Man sentenced to 80 months in prison for 2019 deadly shooting of childhood friend

By KPTV Staff

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    PORTLAND, Oregon (KPTV) — A 33-year-old man has been sentenced to prison in connection with a Portland shooting that left his childhood friend dead.

The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office said Tyler Wayne Pierce pleaded guilty Friday to second-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison.

The charges stem from a shooting that occurred in the early morning hours of June 19, 2019, near Northeast Sandy Boulevard and Northeast Prescott Street. The district attorney’s office said Pierce and his friend, 30-year-old Justin Stewart, were out drinking and by the end of the evening, both were intoxicated.

Pierce had a 9-millimeter semi-automatic handgun on him that he had purchased from a Bi-Mart about one month prior. The district attorney’s office said he did not have a concealed weapon permit.

According to the district attorney’s office, the two were heading home when Pierce pulled out the gun, held it to Stewart’s chin and pulled the trigger. Stewart fell to the ground with a single gunshot wound to his head.

Pierce called 911 and stayed at the scene. Stewart was taken to an area hospital, but died while enroute.

In 2019, FOX 12 spoke with Pierce’s mother who said the two men had been best friends since they were 12 years old.

The district attorney’s office released victim impact statements Friday that Stewart’s parents made at the sentencing:

“Sorry isn’t good enough,” Stewart’s mother said. “He will never have a chance to get married… you are receiving 80 months but me and [Stewart’s father] are getting a life sentence without our son.”

“My son didn’t deserve this… I am haunted by his death,” Stewart’s father added.

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