On September 24, 2021, the body of 35-year-old Andrew Thomas Sherrell, a White male from Bend, Oregon, was discovered in an industrial area of Gresham, Oregon. A passerby reported finding a deceased man near the intersection of Northeast 189th Avenue and Northeast Portal Way. When Gresham Police officers arrived, they found Sherrell face down with a single gunshot wound to his head, and his arms were bound. Investigators noted the absence of a wallet, phone, or any identification on the body.
The positioning of his body suggested he had been kneeling at the curb when he was shot in what was described as an "execution-style" murder.
The investigation that followed involved multiple law enforcement agencies and revealed a plot rooted in the illegal drug trade. Sherrell was identified as being involved in selling drugs, moving them from Central Oregon to the Portland metropolitan area. The motive for his murder was determined to be a drug debt he owed. The investigation pointed to five individuals who conspired to carry out the killing.
The central figure in the plot was identified as Cesar Estrada-Nava, Sherrell's drug dealer. Under pressure to pay his own supplier, Estrada-Nava orchestrated the plan to murder Sherrell. He enlisted the help of four other people: Kassandra Kitchens, D'Sean Maurice Baker, Andrew Bushnell, and Christian Joshua Wobbe. Kitchens, who was reportedly romantically involved with Sherrell, played a key role in luring him to his death. She allegedly contacted Sherrell with an offer of discounted fentanyl, arranging to meet him in Portland's Lloyd District. When Sherrell arrived, he was ambushed.
On the day of the murder, Sherrell was lured into a vehicle driven by Kitchens. Inside, he was assaulted by Baker and Bushnell before being bound with zip ties. The group then drove to the location in Gresham where Sherrell's life was ended. In the months following the discovery of Sherrell's body, investigators identified and arrested the five suspects. Cesar Estrada-Nava, D'Sean Maurice Baker, Andrew Bushnell, and Christian Joshua Wobbe were taken into custody. Kassandra Kitchens was also identified and indicted by a grand jury but initially evaded capture. The charges against the suspects included murder, kidnapping, and criminal conspiracy.
