In a stark culmination of a tragic event that shook the Portland community over a year ago, 23-year-old Shane Martin McKeever has entered a guilty plea to charges stemming from an incident where he drove his vehicle into a homeless camp, resulting in the death of one individual and the attempted harm of another. The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office reported that McKeever pled guilty to First Degree Manslaughter and no contest to Second Degree Attempted Murder.
The fatal encounter, which led to the death of David Bentley, a resident of the transient camp, occurred underneath the Morrison Bridge on-ramp on February 25, 2024; a swift and senseless act that left the homeless community and Bentley’s relatives grappling with loss. As part of the plea agreement, McKeever is expected on August 19 to receive a sentence of 192 months for the manslaughter charge paired with a concurrent 90-month term for attempted murder, a resolution that Deputy District Attorney Austin Buhl hopes will serve as some measure of justice for Bentley’s grieving family, who, despite the hardships of street life, was making inroads toward reuniting with his family and improving his conditions when he was slain…