The business battle between two across-the-street vape shops in Southwest Portland ended in a nine-second burst of gunfire that left two brothers dead and resulted in a guilty verdict Tuesday for the rival owner.
Jobanpreet Singh, 24, grabbed for a tissue as a Multnomah County jury found him guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Dilrajpal Singh, 33, and first-degree manslaughter in the death of 27-year-old Guriqbal Singh.
The brothers — better known as D.P. and Gora — were of no blood relation to their killer but were once close family friends who had partnered with Jobanpreet Singh’s father to expand his profitable line of vape shops and gas station mini-marts from Louisiana to Oregon.
The relationship broke apart in 2022, with Jobanpreet Singh’s family arguing in a civil lawsuit that the brothers had wrested control of the shops, including one recently established off Southwest Barbur Boulevard.
In response, Jobanpreet Singh and his older brother planned a competing outlet, dubbed “Exhale City,” across the street at the Barbur Square shopping center.
Jobanpreet Singh was visiting the new shop around 2:45 p.m. on May 3, 2023, when the brothers drove over in separate cars — sparking a shouting match in the parking lot of Barbur Square.
“This was not fear. This was trash talking,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Mariel Mota told jurors during closing arguments Thursday. “Jonbanpreet Singh overreacted. He lost his temper. He engaged in an argument in a parking lot voluntarily, and he provoked D.P. into coming at him.”
Surveillance footage played in court showed Jobanpreet Singh shooting D.P. Singh as he took a step forward, dropping him to the ground, then chasing Gora Singh and shooting him four times as he fled behind a car.
Mota said Jobanpreet Singh then turned around and emptied his gun into D.P. Singh. Police found 11 bullet wounds in his body.
“This murder was completely avoidable and completely unjustifiable,” Mota said. The brothers were unarmed.
Jobanpreet Singh did not testify but claimed self-defense. His older brother Jaspreet Singh testified that he told his younger sibling about threatening late-night phone calls allegedly made by D.P. and Gora Singh and that he had seen social media posts of them touting their own guns.
Defense attorney John Robb highlighted that Jobanpreet Singh immediately called police and identified himself as the shooter, arguing those actions showed his client had acted to protect himself and his employees.
“Jobanpreet Singh was thinking of nothing else but to preserve his body and his life. What evidence has the prosecution shown that rules out that logical possibility?” Robb asked.
The Multnomah County jury apparently partially agreed, rejecting the state’s proposed first-degree murder charges in both deaths.
The six men and six women also returned guilty verdicts for charges of unlawful use of weapon, stemming from ricochet shots that struck a parked car occupied by a woman and her two children. They were unharmed.
Circuit Judge Heidi Moawad set sentencing for Oct. 17.
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