Tuesday was the third day of the murder trial of Ian Cranston, the man accused of murdering a young man in Downtown Bend last year.
Barry Washington, Jr. was shot and killed outside The Capitol club after a fight in September 2021.
On Tuesday, the first witness to take the stand was Tyler Smith, a close friend of Cranston’s who was present when the shooting took place.
He testified that he met Cranston while working for Nosler, a rifle and ammunition company. It was Smith who invited Cranston and his fiancé Allison Butler out to the Cross-Eyed Cricket, and later to The Capitol on the night of September 18.
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Smith said he had three or four drinks on the night in question, but he did not bring his concealed carry, as he does “not mix firearms and alcohol.”
He said he had been unsure whether Cranston had brought his gun, but the defense pointed out that in the initial interview Smith had with police, he said he did know Cranston had a gun.
Smith said he had initially noticed Washington when they were inside The Capitol nightclub, due to “his size.”
When Washington later approached the group on the sidewalk, Smith testified that he approached Butler first, saying she was gorgeous and complimenting her.
“It was a verbal exchange that ended up escalating,” Smith said.
He said Cranston told Washington to move along and, when he didn’t, the situation escalated into a lot of screaming back and forth. Smith said Cranston told Washington to “eff off” more than 20 times during the incident, and Smith believed Washington to be intoxicated.
Smith remembered Washington smiling after punching Cranston in the face and he started to flash gang signs.
Smith then insulted Washington and Washington then struck Smith. Smith said he heard a gunshot at that point, but he didn’t realize at first what he was hearing.
The prosecution asked Smith if Washington ever threatened to kill him or anyone else in the group, or indicate that he had a weapon. Smith said no.
He said he was not afraid for his life, but he was afraid that Washington would “seriously physically injure” him.
The prosecution asked why Smith chose to continue engaging in the altercation, rather than walking away, or calling police.
“At that point I didn’t want to turn my back on Barry,” Smith said.
Detective Camille Christensen also took the stand, as one of the on-call detectives with Bend Police who responded to the shooting.
She testified that Cranston’s blood alcohol test came back with a result of .04.
Christensen said that Cranston took him to the hospital for a medical evaluation due to his injuries, and he complained of a headache, blurriness in one eye and nausea over what had happened.
Photos of Cranston’s injuries were shown to the jury.
Christensen said when she informed Cranston that Washington had passed away, “he just kind of slumped down his shoulders and kind of swung his head back and appeared to be upset.”
She said that there was no indication that Cranston had suffered head trauma outside from the external wounds he suffered (a split on his eyelid and eyebrow).
The jury also heard from Sgt. Eric Hagan with Bend PD, who drove Cranston to the hospital along with Christensen. The jury watched body camera footage of their conversation in the car in which Hagan and Cranston exchanged small talk about hunting, guns and Cranston’s background and workplace.
A crime scene investigator with Bend Police Department also spoke about his investigation of the scene after the shooting, where he recovered a shell casing, basketball shoes, clothing, a pair of jeans, a gray basketball hat, an iPhone, cash and blood samples. He verified a variety of photos taken at the scene.
Dr. Rebecca Millius, the Deputy State Medical Examiner, testified virtually about the autopsy she performed on Washington’s body and details about his injuries.
She said the wound found on his left abdomen “had characteristics that were consistent with an entrance gunshot wound.”
She said the cause of death was found to be a gunshot wound, which caused injury to his small intestine and his body was unable to support his vital organs.
The manner in which Washington died was found to be homicide, Millius said, which means that the death occurred due to the actions of another in a non-accidental way.
She clarified, after a question from the defense, that this definition did not indicate whether the death occurred under lawful or unlawful circumstances.
