Man gets 25 years for kidnapping, killing ex-girlfriend

PORTLAND, Ore. (PORTLAND TRIBUNE) -- A 30-year-old man was sentenced to 25 years in prison for a 2021 domestic violence homicide in which he held his ex-girlfriend hostage and eventually shot and killed her in East Portland.

Davonte Arnez Donahue pled guilty to first-degree domestic violence manslaughter, unauthorized use a weapon, and no contest to two counts of first-degree attempted murder. He was sentenced Tuesday, July 11, by Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Christopher Marshall. Danahue is in custody in Multnomah County and will be transported to the Oregon Department of Corrections to serve his sentence.

Donahue had escaped from federal custody two months before the fatal incident. In November 2021, a woman called 911 and reported she was being held hostage by her ex-boyfriend in an apartment off of Southeast 171st Avenue. While on the line, a man, who misidentified himself as “Jason” took over the call and claimed the female caller was on drugs and falsely asserted there was no gun in the residence. Before the 911 call abruptly ended, the woman was heard yelling out “Davonte Donahue.”

Two Portland officers arrived and knocked on the door, with no answer. They began to evacuate nearby neighbors as three more officers joined. As a woman and her young child were leaving an apartment across the hall, shots was fired out the front door of the suspect’s unit. None of the officers or bystanders were injured, as more than 30 gunshots were heard coming from inside the apartment.

The Portland Police Bureau’s Special Emergency Response Team and Crisis Negotiation Team took over. Over the next several hours, as negotiations were attempted, further gunshots were periodically heard. Early the next morning a team entered the unit and arrested Donahue. Portland firefighters found the 29-year-old victim and provide medical aid, but she was already dead from a gunshot wound.

Read more at PortlandTribune.com.

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