PORTLAND, Ore. — Nearly a month after a deadly crash claimed the life of 11-year-old Ryan Ambrose, more than a dozen of his loved ones and relatives, including his mother, packed a courtroom inside the Multnomah County Justice Center on Tuesday.
Portland police responded to the crash on July 8, near Southeast 102nd Avenue and Southeast Washington Street. Officers arrived to find two vehicles involved in the wreck. The force of the impact was apparently so strong that the suspect's car flipped and traveled an entire block before stopping.
The driver of that vehicle, identified Tuesday as 29-year-old Duprie Smith, was found at the scene with non-fatal gunshot wounds and taken to the hospital for treatment.
After being released from the hospital, Smith was booked into Multnomah County jail and was charged with first-degree manslaughter, driving under the influence of intoxicants (DUII) and reckless driving. A judge granted him conditional release after his first appearance.
Through his attorney, Smith claimed last month that he'd been attending a funeral for his brother when someone started shooting into the crowd, hitting him three times. When an ambulance didn't arrive fast enough, Smith's attorney said, he got in his car because he believed he was "bleeding out."
Ambrose, a passenger in the car T-boned in the crash, died not long after, at the hospital.
Weeks later, amid a sea of T-shirts reading "Justice for Ryan," Mitzi Zarate stood to address the judge at Smith's arraignment.
"This is so hard for me and for my family," she said. "I flew from Arizona just to be here, just for you to hear my plea as a mother."
Ryan Ambrose was Zarate's only child. She told reporters her son was creative — he loved drawing and comic books. He was funny and loved to tells jokes. Above all, he was kind, and so loved by his family.
"He was one of a kind. The most loving human being," Zarate said. "Wherever he is, he's in a better place because he deserves it."
"Five years ago, almost to the day, we lost [Ryan's] dad in the same circumstances, and we just don't feel that it's right that somebody who is under the influence was able to be out, free on the streets, when our little boy is not here anymore," said Ryan Ambrose's aunt in court.
On Tuesday, Duprie Smith pleaded not guilty to the series of charges, including manslaughter and DUII. The judge maintained his conditional release.
"I told the defendant at that first court appearance that I would take him back into custody if he either tampered with that SCRAM bracelet, or if you drink," the court judge said. "We checked in with supervision earlier today and they said that he's been in full compliance with his release conditions."