In the summer of 1997, a tragic event unfolded in Portland, Oregon, that led to the death of 35-year-old Caucasian male, Thomas Layton Jeffries. On July 20th, Jeffries, a Portland Police Bureau officer, was involved in the pursuit of a suspect wanted in connection with the shooting of a seven-year-old child. Near the intersection of NE Glisan Street and NE 160th Avenue, Jeffries was backing up another officer who had stopped the suspect's vehicle.
As Officer Jeffries exited his patrol
car, the suspect, Eufronio Hernandez-Hernandez, opened fire. A bullet struck Jeffries in the chest, just above his protective vest. Despite being mortally wounded, Jeffries managed to return fire, hitting Hernandez-Hernandez in the leg. The suspect then fled into a nearby wooded area. Thomas Layton Jeffries succumbed to his injuries the following day, on July 21, 1997.
A canine unit later located and arrested Eufronio Hernandez-Hernandez. An investigation revealed that Hernandez-Hernandez was a Mexican national who was in the United States illegally. In November 1998, he was convicted in a Multnomah County Circuit Court on four counts of Aggravated Murder, three counts of Attempted Murder, and one count of Assault in the First Degree. For the murder of Officer Thomas Layton Jeffries, Hernandez-Hernandez was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He is currently incarcerated in the Oregon Department of Corrections.
