Toyreia Martin

Do you know who killed Toyreia \Toya\ Sonea Martin in 1995?
In the summer of 1995, Toyreia “Toya” Sonea Martin was celebrating a milestone. On June 22, she turned 21 and had a party at her home in Northeast Portland, Oregon. Hours later, in the quiet of the early morning, that celebration was violently extinguished. Toyreia, a young Black woman with her life ahead of her, was shot and killed as she slept in her own bed. Her death was not just a tragic loss but a brutal entry in a chapter of Portland’s history marked by intense gang conflict.

The night of the party bled into the morning of June 22, when at approximately 4:00 a.m., multiple residents on the 500 block of NE Ivy Street called the police to report the sound of gunshots. Officers from the Portland Police Bureau responded but found nothing out of the ordinary in the dark and quiet neighborhood, and they departed the scene. The terrible truth was not revealed until about 7:30 a.m., when a neighbor noticed that the house at 526 NE Ivy Street was riddled with bullet holes. This time when police arrived, they entered the home and found Toyreia deceased in her bed. An autopsy would later confirm she had died from multiple gunshot wounds to her torso; one report specified ten wounds to her chest and shoulder.

The investigation quickly focused on the city's escalating gang violence. The mid-1990s were a vicious period in Portland, with a record number of violent crimes reported in 1995. Investigators learned that Toyreia had a criminal record and was known to have affiliations with local gangs. Specifically, she was a friend of a notorious gang figure, Anthony “Lil Smurf” Branch Jr., and was dating his cousin. Police believed her murder was not a random act but was directly related to these connections.

A break in the case came a few months later, in October 1995. A man named Ronald Gunn, an associate of a rival gang, was arrested on an unrelated carjacking charge. While in custody, Gunn confessed to his involvement in Toyreia’s murder. He told investigators that he and three other men—Terrell Pittman, Leonard Drisker, and Keith Bowman—had gone to Toyreia’s house in the early morning hours, armed and looking for “Lil Smurf.” Pittman, who had previously been in a relationship with Toyreia, believed their target would be at the house. Seeing his car parked outside, the men opened fire on the residence before fleeing.

The day after the murder, in a chilling display of audacity, Pittman and Gunn encountered Toyreia’s brother, Charles Jenkins, and smoked marijuana with him. Pittman reportedly acted as if nothing had happened and even promised Jenkins he would find out who was responsible for his sister's death.

Based on his confession, Ronald Gunn pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to ten years in prison. However, the case against the other three men stalled. Under Oregon law at the time, the confession of an accomplice was not sufficient evidence to secure a conviction. Despite the detailed confession and the belief of the District Attorney's office that they knew who the killers were, no other charges have ever been filed in connection with Toyreia Martin’s murder.

For decades, Toyreia’s case has remained officially unsolved, a painful cold case for her family and a stark reminder of a violent era in the city’s past. No one else has been held accountable for the gunfire that ended a young woman's life on her 21st birthday. The case remains open with the Portland Police Bureau's Cold Case Homicide Unit. Crime Stoppers of Oregon offers a cash reward of up to $2,500 for information that leads to an arrest in any unsolved felony. Anyone with information is asked to contact investigators at (503) 823-0400 or submit an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers.