Today, Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt announced that Matthew Leahey, 37, entered a guilty plea for shooting at police officers following a traffic stop in Northeast Portland last year. As part of his agreement, Leahey pleaded guilty to four charges:
- Two counts of Attempted Aggravated Murder
- One count of Unlawful Use of a Weapon with a Firearm
- One count of Felon in Possession of a Firearm
On May 6, 2022, two Portland Police officers assigned to the Focused Intervention Team conducted a traffic stop for multiple violations at NE 78th Avenue and NE Mason Street; the driver of the vehicle was Leahey. After officers determined that Leahey gave them false information and would not present a driver’s license, one officer directed Leahey to put his hands on his head while seated in the car. Rather than comply with the officer’s directive, Leahey pulled a gun and shot directly at the officer, just narrowly missing his head. Leahey then exited the car and raised his gun to shoot at a second officer before police fired at him.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Shawn Overstreet and Deputy District Attorney Jeffrey Lowe are the prosecutors assigned to this case. Sentencing is scheduled for June 8 in front of Judge Thomas Ryan.
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