Family Disgusted with Judge's Treatment of Man Who Allegedly Killed Their Kid in DUI Crash
Police say Duprie Smith killed an 11-year-old boy in Portland, Oregon, while driving drunk at more than 40 miles over the speed limit, but that didn’t stop the judge from serving up “justice” Portland-style.
According to KPTV-TV, the family of Ryan Ambrose, the boy who was killed, is furious that Smith has been released without bail on what are known as “enhanced DUII conditions” despite the fact he’s charged with first-degree manslaughter.
In addition to that, he also faces charges of driving under the influence of intoxicants and reckless driving, according to KGW-TV.
Smith, through his attorney, didn’t exactly do himself any favors by providing his version of events that led up to the crash on July 8.
The 29-year-old said he’d suffered three gunshot wounds when someone started shooting into the crowd at a funeral for his brother.
Smith was struck in typically non-fatal areas — the arm and the leg. When he decided an ambulance wasn’t arriving on the scene fast enough, he got in his SUV and started speeding to the hospital, with his attorney saying he believed he was “bleeding out.”
Also unwisely for him, Smith had the dashcam in his vehicle recording everything he did and said, according to a probable cause affidavit filed by the Multnomah County District Attorney’s office.
“Defendant can be seen entering his vehicle, and driving erratically, making statements such as ‘where is the hospital’ and ‘I am going to die,'” the affidavit read.
Just before he hit the sedan the boy was traveling in about 10:15 p.m., data from the recorder showed that he was traveling at 86 miles per hour.
He slammed on his brakes one second before impact, but that only slowed him to 72 miles per hour — in a 30-mph zone.
EXCLUSIVE BREAKING: Ryan Ambrose, an 11-year-old #Portland boy, died on July 8 after being in a car allegedly hit at high speed by 29-year-old black male Duprie DJ Smith. Sources tell me Smith was trying to drive to the hospital following being shot during a gang-related event.… pic.twitter.com/gxz4aafo8K
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) July 11, 2023
“Notably, Defendant was traveling at such a high rate of speed that after the impact at SE Stark, his vehicle flipped over and still traveled an entire city block, coming to rest at SE Washington,” the affidavit read.
While a witness tried to perform CPR on Ryan, he was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Smith, although thrown from his vehicle, was “seemingly fine” aside from the gunshot wounds. He was released from the hospital the next day — but not before failing a blood alcohol test, which showed his blood alcohol content at 0.116, according to police. The legal limit in Oregon is .08.
The affidavit said both Smith’s level of intoxication and speed were causes of the wreck.
So, when the Multnomah County District Attorney’s office — not exactly known as a hive of Joe Friday-esque hard-on-crime types — requested $100,000 bail for Smith, you would think a judge would be amenable.
Instead, according to KPTV, “the judge declined bail and instead released Smith on enhanced DUII conditions, meaning he cannot possess or consume alcohol, he is not allowed to use any drugs not prescribed by a doctor, he cannot drive or possess a vehicle, and he cannot enter any bars, taverns, or other businesses that primarily serve alcohol.”
This is to be monitored via a blood alcohol ankle monitor; he also must participate in drug and alcohol treatment.
Two days after Monday’s arraignment, Ryan’s family and supporters gathered at the crash site to demand action.
A memorial is growing at SE 102nd/Stark in Portland for 11y/o Ryan Ambrose, killed in a crash Saturday night. Police say the suspect Duprie Smith was shot and driving to the hospital when he crashed, later arrested for DUII. This week a judge released him without bail @KOINNews pic.twitter.com/92lEG3JYZf
— Jami Seymore (@JamiSeymore) July 14, 2023
“The whole family is here today,” Mario Trejo, the boy’s grandfather, told KPTV. “To try to make justice for my little kid, for my grandson.”
Ryan was visiting family in Portland and was just hours from catching a flight back to Arizona, where he lived.
“He was killed by a drunk driver and now this guy is in his house watching TV and my grandson is in a case in the funeral home right now,” Trejo said.
“We think this is not fair,” he said. “What are they trying to do? Wait until he kills someone else and then arrest him? He was drunk driving 90 miles an hour. Ran every single red light. This is not fair. Where is the justice? We need it. The whole family needs it.”
“Everybody is destroyed,” Trejo added.
“I cannot tell you how the pain is,” the grandfather said. “He came to visit us for two weeks. He was seven hours away from getting on the flight back home with his mom. Now mom is going to receive him in a case. Just imagine the pain. The man who did this is free in his house. We don’t want to tell her yet, we don’t know how to tell her yet.”
The grandfather of Ryan Ambrose, Mario Trejo, says Ryan was in town visiting from Arizona. He was supposed to fly back to AZ where his mom lives the morning after the crash.
Mario’s son and Ryan’s father was killed in a car accident five years ago. @KATUNews pic.twitter.com/voYg4h5Btt
— Emily Girsch (@EmilyGirsch) July 12, 2023
Well, what are we to expect? This is, I repeat, justice Portland-style.
Welcome to a city where rioters were allowed to take control of the streets on a nightly basis for the better part of a year, where the federal courthouse was under siege every night for months. What did the justice system do as rioters took a physical and mental toll on the Pacific Northwest city? Very little — because, of course, its crunchy-lib residents have elected progressive officials for decades.
The chickens have come home to roost. While an 11-year-old lies dead, his alleged killer is out without bail and with little besides an alcohol-monitoring ankle bracelet to keep him from offending again.
Portland progressives, you own this outrage. You are responsible for whatever this man does — and the fact he’s even able to do it, considering he should be either behind bars or released only on a massive amount of bail money.
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