Inset (left): Kamari Gates during a court appearance (KATU). Inset (right): LaToya Hill (Portland Police Bureau). Background: The scene in Portland, Ore., where LaToya Hill was killed (KATU).
An Oregon man who shot and killed his neighbor following an ongoing dispute has been sentenced to prison.
Kamari Gates, 20, who pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and attempted murder in July, was sentenced on Monday to 20 years behind bars. Gates was 18 years old when he fatally shot 38-year-old LaToya Hill before opening fire on Hill’s fiancee, Danielle McGruder, 41, on Sept. 17, 2024. According to reporting by The Oregonian, Hill and McGruder had just returned to their home in Portland, Oregon, after dropping their daughters off at school.
While Hill was throwing cans in her recycling bin outside, Gates shot her in the head. McGruder was inside when she heard the gunshot and came outside to see what happened. Gates then pointed his gun at her.
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According to courtroom reporting by The Oregonian, McGruder addressed the court at Gates’ sentencing. She said Gates and his family had been friends and had spent time at her house in the past. McGruder told the court, “This is a boy that sat in my house and played on the PlayStation. This is a boy that’s helped set up a basketball hoop outside. So I was in shock, and it took me a minute to realize that he was really shooting at me.”
McGruder recounted how the relationship between her family and Gates’ family soured when Gates’ brother stayed at McGruder and Hill’s home following a family fight. Hill and the Gates family seemingly fell into a rift that was never resolved.
Local ABC affiliate KATU reported at the time of Hill’s killing that Gates went on the run for days before he turned himself in to police.
Gates was sentenced to 10 years for each count, which will be served consecutively. He will be on postprison supervision for three years after his release.
The post Couple dropped off kids at school and then returned home to angry neighbor fuming over prior dispute who pulled out a gun and shot 1 of them dead first appeared on Law & Crime.
