3 indicted in 2014 killing of Portland woman

PORTLAND, Ore. — Three men have been indicted on murder charges in the fatal shooting of a pregnant Portland woman nearly two years ago.

The indictment handed down last week and made public Tuesday names DeAnthony Simmons, Geontae Jones and Demetrius Brown, also known as Demetruis. All are in their early 20s.

The killing described by police as gang-associated happened early on Aug. 17, 2014. There had been gang violence earlier that evening, but police have yet to disclose whether the killing of Ervaeua Herring, 21, was in retaliation.

About an hour before sunrise, men burst into an apartment in southeast Portland and threatened a woman. After realizing they were in the wrong place, the men found the unit they were looking for and opened fire.

Herring was the mother of a 1-year-old boy and in the early stages of pregnancy.

Homicide Detective Anthony Merrill said the killing was tied to gangs, but Herring was not a member.

Merrill declined to discuss the motive or say whether the gunmen were targeting Herring or a boyfriend who was not home at the time.

Jones and Brown pleaded not guilty at their arraignments Tuesday. Simmons is in state prison and will be arraigned later.

Brown is already awaiting trial on murder charges in another case — the 2013 shooting death of Andreas Prince Jones. Kimberly Dixon, the mother of the 2013 victim, attended Tuesday’s arraignment to show support for Herring’s mother.

“Children are to be burying parents; parents should not be burying children,” Dixon said.

Herring’s mother, Aleasha Branch, declined to discuss her daughter. “You guys are here now,” she told reporters. “But where were you guys when we couldn’t sleep at night?”

Merrill said more arrests are anticipated. Court documents have been sealed.

Merrill urged witnesses to speak with detectives. Some people have come forward, Merrill said, but most have not. He said the community can’t let gang members silence people through intimidation and get away with murder.