On June 28, 2019, 28-year-old Richard Joshua John Barney was fatally shot in McMinnville, Oregon. The incident occurred around 5:30 p.m. near Northeast Grandhaven Street and Doran Drive. Upon arrival, McMinnville police found Barney with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. He was transported by ambulance to a Life Flight location but succumbed to his injuries before he could be airlifted to a hospital.
The suspect, identified as 33-year-old Dustin Allen Brown, fled the scene on a bicycle immediately after the shooting, armed with a 9mm handgun. Authorities launched a manhunt, and Brown was apprehended in the early hours of June 29, 2019. He was taken into custody on a temporary felony warrant for homicide and later booked into the Yamhill County Jail.
Investigations revealed that Barney and Brown were acquainted. Surveillance footage from a nearby residence captured the sequence of events leading up to the shooting. The video showed what appeared to be a gunshot, followed by a man emerging from a wooded area. Barney then came into view, trailing the man, who turned to face him before discharging additional shots. This evidence was instrumental in piecing together the circumstances of the crime.
Following his arrest, Brown was charged with murder in connection to Barney's death. The case drew significant attention in the McMinnville community, prompting local law enforcement to urge any witnesses or individuals with pertinent information to come forward to aid in the ongoing investigation.
Barney's passing was deeply mourned by his family and friends. Born on February 22, 1991, in Klamath Falls, Oregon, he was an enrolled member of The Klamath Tribes. He spent his formative years in various Oregon communities, including Klamath Falls, Bonanza, Salem, and McMinnville, and was a graduate of Chemawa Indian High School. His obituary highlighted his surviving family members, including his parents, siblings, great-grandmother, grandmother, aunt, uncle, and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends, all of whom felt the profound impact of his untimely death.
