He Shot His Own Twin Brother During a Fight. Now He’s Sentenced

RawNews1st – At approximately 3:30 a.m., officers responded to a reported shooting outside the Howard Johnson hotel on Sandy Boulevard in Portland, Oregon. Upon arrival, they located a man suffering from gunshot wounds. He was later pronounced dead.

The victim was identified as 26-year-old Martese Oliver.

According to investigators, Martese Oliver and his fraternal twin brother, Martre Oliver, had driven to Portland from Martese’s apartment in Renton, Washington. Court records indicate the brothers were accompanied by two women who were being sold for sex.

Authorities said the brothers spent the night of September 24, 2022 dancing at clubs in before returning to the hotel in the early morning hours. At some point after they arrived back at the motel, a dispute broke out between the brothers in the parking lot.

Investigators said Martese punched Martre during the altercation. Security footage showed Martre falling to the ground and out of camera view. As Martese approached him, three gunshots were fired.

Authorities said Martre shot his brother, striking him twice in the upper thigh. The gunshots severed Martese’s femoral artery, causing catastrophic blood loss.

Prosecutors told the jury that surveillance video showed Martese trying to drag himself with his hands as he bled, leaving blood smeared across the ground before collapsing.

After the shooting, Martre fled the scene in an SUV. Prosecutors said he returned about 10 minutes later and asked responding officers about his brother’s condition while claiming he had not been with him and had been away all day.

Martre was initially released from the scene before investigators recovered the clearest surveillance footage.

He was arrested on September 28, 2022, by U.S. Marshals inside his brother’s apartment in Renton, Washington.

During trial, the defense argued the twins had relied heavily on one another growing up after their mother died of cancer when they were toddlers. Martre Oliver moved to Fresno, California as an adult but was visiting Martese Oliver, he said.

The defense argued that surveillance footage never clearly showed Martre Oliver holding a gun. Attorneys also pointed to the downward trajectory of the bullets, claiming it indicated there was no intent to kill.

Defense counsel told the jury there was no evidence of a deliberate or conscious objective to take his brother’s life.

Under Oregon law, intent is required to sustain a murder conviction. Jurors ultimately agreed the state did not meet that burden, acquitting Martre Oliver of second-degree murder.

On March 21, 2026, a jury found 29-year-old Martre Oliver guilty of first-degree manslaughter and unlawful use of a weapon. He was acquitted of second-degree murder after jurors were not convinced the state had proven the required intent to kill.

He was later sentenced to 150 months in prison, the equivalent of 12 and a half years.