A Redmond man is facing a homicide charge for allegedly being high on marijuana when police say he struck and killed a 90-year-old pedestrian last year.
Witnesses say Anthony Rubaldino Vasquez, 20, stopped his GMC Yukon after hitting Leroy Eugene Hall while traveling about 35 mph through Redmond, then shouted a few panicked statements and drove away, according to court documents. Vasquez was pulled over and arrested about 25 minutes later. A marijuana dab oil pen was allegedly found in his pocket and seized as evidence.
He was scheduled to enter a plea to a charge of criminally negligent homicide Thursday in Deschutes County Circuit Court, but a continuance was granted by the judge.
The incident took place at 6:50 p.m. Nov. 20, 2020 in the 1200 block of NW Sixth Street in Redmond. A 911 caller reported a red SUV had struck a pedestrian and driven away.
The first officer on scene, Zach Moore of the Redmond Police Department, saw Hall laying motionless in the middle lane and checked for a pulse but found none.
A witness reported that Hall had been attempting to cross traffic with a heavy limp, court records state.
Two vehicles had to brake hard as they approached him. Another driver said she felt concern as she passed Hall, but when she checked her rearview mirror, she saw him flying through the air.
A witness driving behind Vasquez’s red SUV told police she saw it swerve to the right and moments later, saw a man in her lane but had no time to avoid running over him, court records state.
An officer on scene said the driver displayed no signs of impairment.
Witnesses told police they saw the driver of the red SUV get out of the vehicle, look at Hall’s body before returning to the SUV and driving to a nearby mobile home park. One reported the driver of the SUV yelled, “I hit him. I hit him,” before driving off.
Around 25 minutes later, Redmond officer Nathan Rankin saw a red SUV with front-end damage and one headlight out, and pulled it over at SW Highland Avenue and SW 15th Street. Rankin told the driver, Vasquez, his vehicle resembled one reportedly involved in the hit-and-run, and Vasquez reportedly replied, “Yeah.” Rankin wrote in his report Vasquez smelled of marijuana and a marijuana dab oil pen was found in his right front pocket.
Rankin reported Vasquez displayed numerous signs of impairment, including poor balance, bloodshot eyes, difficulty following instructions, a lethargic and dazed facial expression and an overly relaxed demeanor. He also reportedly performed poorly on two roadside sobriety tests, the one-leg stand and the walk-and-turn.
Vasquez reportedly told the officer he fled the scene because he was scared, but he denied smoking marijuana that day, court records state.
Police also searched Vasquez’s phone and a count of third-degree sexual abuse was added to his indictment, which was approved by a grand jury in January. Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel confirmed the charge concerns a separate incident from the crash.
Vasquez is represented by Bend attorney Bryan Donahue, who did not return a call seeking comment.
A similar case in Deschutes County in 2017 yielded a conviction against the driver, Justice Knight Collins, who was sentenced to three years in prison and a lifetime license revocation. Collins was high on marijuana when he caused the death of Jason M. Franklin of Madras.
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