According to reports, a landlord in Portland pleaded guilty on Thursday and drew a gun at a black tenant he called n-word.
The August 2020 incident captured in the video shows Leon Drennan using racial slander and pointing a pistol at Torrance Hunter, a resident of the Stewart Hotel in downtown Portland, Oregon, a local news station KTVB reportDrennan owned the hotel at the time.
At a hearing in the Multnomah County Circuit Court on Thursday, 75-year-old Drennan pleaded guilty to multiple criminal charges involving Hunter. These charges include one count of second-degree assault, one count of illegal use of weapons, and one count of first-degree prejudice with a gun.
After the incident, the police arrested Drennan, and prosecutors charged him with multiple crimes of secondary assault, illegal use of weapons, threats and crimes of prejudice in September 2020.
The lawsuit against Drennan also claimed that the 75-year-old man hit Hunter in the head with a crowbar and whipped him with a pistol. According to KTVB, Hunter seeks compensation of up to US$6 million.
Scott Olson/Photo by Getty Images
Drennan also faces charges for incidents involving two other hotel residents, Latif Bossman and Kambria Kony.
According to reports, in another incident in 2020, Drennan also pointed a gun at Bossman and called him an N after the tenant intervened to protect Kony, a resident who is also black. According to reports, Drennan was talking to Kony. He pulled out a gun and threatened to shoot his dog, which prompted Bossman to intervene verbally. According to court documents.
In response, Drennan told Bossman: “Get out of my building, the word you.”
Bossman also filed a lawsuit against Drennan over Drennan’s confrontation and demanded compensation of up to 4.5 million U.S. dollars.
In exchange for his guilty plea, the District Attorney’s Office dropped charges not related to Hunter’s case, and the prosecutor recommended a three-year probation and no contact with any of the three victims.
Drennan was also sentenced to a drug and alcohol assessment and was prohibited from using weapons, firearms or ammunition. He was also recommended to attend a parole officer’s emotional management course or other treatment courses.
According to court records, the Bossman lawsuit filed this week was dismissed. However, Bossman’s lawyer Michael Fuller stated that he and his client were satisfied with the results.
According to KTVB, Fuller said at the hearing on Thursday: “We are satisfied that this is a fair and just result.”
Bosman settled his case and accepted $185,000 in compensation, Fuller said. At the same time, Hunter also accepted compensation based on his settlement of the lawsuit, but Fuller did not know how much.
Weekly newspaper Contact Fuller for comments.
