PORTLAND, Ore. — A Multnomah County judge sentenced a man to life in prison Wednesday for the deadly shooting of a man in Portland's Hazelwood neighborhood back in 2020.
40-year-old Colby Dian Benson was charged with second-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon for the death of 29-year-old Christopher Klein.
On Sept. 11, 2020, officers responded to reports of a shooting at the intersection of East Burnside and Southeast 122nd Avenue. When they arrived, they found witnesses trying to help Klein, who had been shot several times. Despite efforts to save him, Klein died at the scene.
An investigation found that the shooter, later identified as Benson, approached Klein in his vehicle at the intersection before firing multiple rounds into the car, prosecutors said. The pair had been hanging out with one another leading up the shooting.
Surveillance video from the area showed Benson leaving Klein's home, walking up to Klein in his vehicle and then firing the shots, prosecutors said.
A 12-person jury returned a guilty verdict on the charges in a trial that ended Tuesday. A judge sentenced Benson the next day to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years.
