Man Charged In Portland Murders Was On Supervised Release In WA

PORTLAND, OR – The man charged with killing two strangers under Portland bridges just hours apart, has a string of felony convictions in Washington. Court records indicate that James Barquet. convicted of 11 felonies, has been under supervision since being released after 7-months in jail after being convicted on drug charges.

Barquet, a Seattle resident according to records at the Multnomah County Jail, made his first appearance in a Portland courtroom on charges that he murdered two people and committed an armed robbery in just about four hours, Tuesday into Wednesday.

His court-appointed lawyer entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf.

Police say that the mayhem started around 9 p.m., Monday night.

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Officers were called to the east side of Southwest 1st Avenue underneath the Morrison Bridge. There they found an adult woman . She was dead, having suffered severe head injuries. Police found casings near her body and believe that she had been shot.

She has been identified as 70-year-old Carol Horner of Portland. Her family released a statement that Horner had suffered from mental illness and had been living a "hard life" on the streets, adding that they hope that "her horrific death may bring awareness that there is a mental health crisis in this country."

Just about 90 minutes later, robbery detectives responded to the Chevron gas station at 4th and Burnside where a man with a gun had stolen cigarettes. No one was injured.

Around 12:30 on Tuesday morning, homicide detectives were called to the Burnside Bridge. About halfway across the bridge a man was found dead. He had apparently been shot to death.

Police say that he was 51-year-old Brian Hansen of Vancouver.

Detectives say that they found a man who matched the description of the killer around 3:30 a.m. by Southwest 3rd and Pine whom they took into custody without incident. He has been identified as Barquet.

Portland police were able to use surveillance video to identify Barquet in the Hansen killing.

They also ask that anyone with any information about any of these crimes contact one of these four detectives:

Homicide Detail Detective Vince Cui at 503-823-0449, Vince.Cui@portlandoregon.gov or Detective Scott Broughton at 503-823-3774, Scott.Broughton@portlandoregon.gov or Detective Todd Gradwahl at 503-823-0991, Todd.Gradwahl@portlandoregon.gov or Detective James Lawrence at James.Lawrence@portlandoregon.gov

Barquet will be back in court on Nov. 30.

Photos via Portland Police Bureau..