Uber driver kills man going to kid’s soccer game in road rage, OR officials say
A man accused in a deadly rush hour shooting in Oregon is facing prison after a jury found him guilty of murder and attempted murder charges, officials said.
Geoffrey Edward Hammond, 48, was convicted May 1 of murder in the second degree and attempted murder in the second degree in the 2023 shooting in downtown Portland, the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
He first went to trial on those charges and others in late 2024, but that jury couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict on the murder and attempted murder charges, prosecutors said. He was found guilty during that trial of first-degree assault with a firearm and two counts of unlawful use of a weapon with a firearm, prosecutors said.
McClatchy News reached out to his attorneys May 2 and was awaiting a response.
Hammond is accused of fatally shooting Ryan Martin, 47, on Oct. 11, 2023.
Hammond was driving for Uber, and he “was stopped in front of” a hotel in downtown, “partially blocking a lane of traffic at rush hour,” prosecutors said.
Martin was behind him and “said something out the window to Hammond as his truck squeezed by Hammond’s car,” according to prosecutors.
Hammond then flipped Martin off, prosecutors said.
Martin got out of his truck and walked to Hammond’s car to confront him, prosecutors said, and Hammond shot Martin in the chest. Martin, who’d been on his way home for his child’s soccer game, prosecutors said, lay on the ground “unable to move.”
The bullet went through Martin’s lung and spine, according to prosecutors.
Hammond made another attempt to shoot Martin, “but the gun malfunctioned,” according to prosecutors, who said “witnesses described watching Hammond try to fix his gun while saying, ‘You’re lucky I didn’t shoot you in the heart.’”
Another man, Sam Gomez, “stumbled upon the scene” and pulled out his phone to document what was happening, prosecutors said. Gomez “was immediately shot in the leg by Hammond, who slowly drove away,” according to prosecutors.
Hammond said in a 911 call that “he felt justified in” shooting the men “because Martin menaced him and because Gomez might have had a weapon,” prosecutors said.
Neither Martin nor Gomez were armed, according to prosecutors.
Uber couldn’t immediately be reached by McClatchy News about the case May 2.
On a GoFundMe page, Martin was described as “a devoted husband, a loving father to eight children in a blended family, a cherished son, and a pillar in the community. His life was a tapestry woven with threads of passion for family, youth sports, music, and a deep commitment to making those around him smile.”
Hammond is scheduled to be sentenced in June and faces life in prison with parole possible after 25 years in connection with the second-degree murder conviction, prosecutors said.
This story was originally published May 2, 2025 at 12:36 PM with the headline "Uber driver kills man going to kid’s soccer game in road rage, OR officials say."
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