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A 43-year-old Bend man pleaded guilty to manslaughter after fatally shooting a man in Powell Butte, and was sentenced to 18 years in prison Thursday.

Russell Votruba was charged in Crook County in May 2023 with second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter, among other charges, in the killing of Christopher Hoffman, 41, of Powell Butte. Votruba was also charged in Deschutes County in January for crimes associated with the police chase and gunfire that followed the shooting.

Prosecutors from Crook and Deschutes counties and Votruba’s defense attorney, David Rich, met in Crook County Circuit Court in Prineville on Thursday to settle both cases simultaneously.

Judge Annette Hillman ruled Votruba would serve 18 years in prison for pleading guilty to first-degree manslaughter and being a felon in possession of a firearm in Crook County, and he would concurrently serve about two years for pleading guilty to unlawful use of a weapon in Deschutes County.

At his sentencing, Votruba expressed remorse, saying he killed his best friend, Crook County District Attorney Kari Hathorn said Friday.

Votruba and Hoffman had spent the days leading up to the killing consuming a “smorgasbord” of drugs, which included cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana, Hathorn said.

On May 7, 2023, Votruba had apparently been using Hoffman’s phone, and when Hoffman asked him to hang up, Votruba became angry, then shot him, Hathorn said.

The Crook County Sheriff’s Office said at the time that Votruba had called someone and told the person he had killed Hoffman. That person then called 911.

When authorities responded to a Powell Butte home at 12089 SW Red Cloud Road, they found the doors open, Hoffman’s body inside and no one else around, the sheriff’s office said at the time.

Votruba, who had taken Hoffman’s black BMW, led authorities on a high-speed chase on U.S. Highway 97 in Deschutes County, Sgt. Jason Wall, spokesperson for the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, said in a May 7, 2023, news release. Votruba avoided spike strips, but he was eventually stopped by deputies in Redmond near the Yew Avenue exit on the highway. At that point, deputies heard gunshots coming from inside the car.

“When he ended the chase in Redmond, he fired multiple rounds from his handgun at or in the direction of buildings in Redmond from his vehicle,” said Deschutes County District Attorney Steve Gunnels.

He added, “One of the rounds injured him, went into his chest, and based on the danger that he posed to the community, we believed that it was appropriate to file criminal charges against him.”

Votruba was transported to St. Charles Bend, and survived the self-inflicted gunshot wounds. He initially pleaded not guilty to the Crook County charges in October, but that changed Thursday.

“The homicide case in Crook County had some evidentiary challenges, and resolving both cases together for 18 years in prison is a good resolution,” Gunnels said.

Hathorn said Votruba’s defense attorney, Rich, who could not be reached for a comment Friday, intended to raise a self-defense claim if the case went to trial. That was based on Votruba’s retelling of the day, in which he indicated Hoffman might have had a gun. However, evidence was murky.

“I think that there was no excuse and no reason for the defendant murdering Christopher Hoffman that day,” Hathorn said.

She added: “Ultimately only one person walked out of that house who can say what occurred.”