Mother of Slain Pregnant Woman Calls Sentence ‘Slap on the Wrist’

The mother of a pregnant woman shot and killed in Portland in 2014 criticized the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office and the court system during an emotional sentencing hearing {snip}

Kelani Brown and DeAnthony Simmons pleaded guilty this week to manslaughter and burglary charges in the death of Ervaeua Herring.

Kelani Brown

DeAnthony Simmons

The Multnomah County judge sentenced Brown to a combined seven and a half years in prison. {snip}

The judge gave Simmons a total of 10 years in prison with credit for time served since May 2016.

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{snip}Herring’s shooting stemmed from a fight that broke out in downtown Portland in 2014. Brown and Simmons were there during the fight when someone they knew was shot. Brown, Simmons, and others drove to Herring’s apartment complex looking for her boyfriend, DeAndrae Stevens, who was associated with the group that participated in the fight.

Prosecutors said six armed gunmen first entered the wrong apartment and threatened a woman and her small children with guns. Realizing their mistake, the gunmen knocked on Herring’s back door and fired approximately 30 shots into the apartment when she came to the door, killing Herring, according to prosecutors.

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