In the early morning hours of May 4, 2019, Alex Oyombe Gradin, a 21-year-old Black male, was fatally shot in a parking lot behind Taylor's Bar and Grill near the University of Oregon in Eugene. A student at Lane Community College, Gradin was an innocent victim in a tragic case of mistaken identity. He was pronounced dead at the scene after police and medical personnel rendered aid for a life-threatening gunshot wound.
The investigation revealed that the perpetrators, Regis Derey Kindred
and his wife Kailee Von Foster, were targeting a rival gang member. They had been following a vehicle they believed belonged to this individual when they wrongly identified Gradin as their target. Authorities were clear that Gradin had no involvement in any gang activity and did nothing to provoke the attack. He had no prior interaction with the couple who took his life. His family described him as a compassionate and thoughtful young man who was an unexpected blessing to their lives when they adopted him as a baby from Kenya.
In the months following the shooting, Regis Derey Kindred, 30, and Kailee Von Foster, 29, were arrested and charged with murder. Kindred, identified as the shooter, ultimately pleaded guilty to Murder in the Second Degree and was sentenced to life in prison. Kailee Von Foster, who was driving the vehicle, pleaded guilty to Manslaughter in the Second Degree and received a sentence of 75 months. During the sentencing, Gradin's family spoke of their profound loss, remembering his smile and his desire to help others, while expressing their intention to forgive the couple to avoid becoming bitter.
