The 18-year-old who was briefly charged with murder in the death of Borisshell Washington in Southeast Portland last month has remained in custody since his arrest, despite being cleared of taking part in the shooting.

Friday, a deputy district attorney argued in Multnomah County Circuit Court that Todd Rutherford ought to stay in custody for his own protection and that of the community. Deputy District Attorney Mike Riedel said that Rutherford is a known gang member with two weapons violations and an assault on his record.

Ralph Banks, Rutherford's caseworker with the county Juvenile Department, testified that Rutherford was placed in danger by reports in The Oregonian and other news media saying that he had talked to police and had given them leads that helped the investigation.

No one has been arrested in the case. Washington, 18, a senior at Jefferson High School, was fatally shot May 31 at a Raymond Park party where she was celebrating a friend's release from jail.

Banks said that Rutherford is now "perceived in the community as being a snitch."

But Rutherford's Public Defender, Al Karpinski, argued that Rutherford was in no danger and had only given police information leading to his exoneration.

"He did provide evidence to police," Karpinski said. "He provided evidence that he didn't do it."

Karpinski argued that if Rutherford had provided police with leads in their investigation, he would have been held as a material witness instead of the probation violations.

Officials with the Police Bureau and the district attorney's office declined to comment on how much Rutherford helped their case, citing their ongoing investigation.

Judge Maureen McKnight asked why the Juvenile Department had not brought up the probation violations at Rutherford's last probation hearing, in April.

She released the teenager to the custody of a halfway house and ordered him to wear an electronic monitoring device with GPS capabilities. The judge directed Banks to find a suitable facility and provide reports on Rutherford's condition every 48 hours.

Karpinski said Rutherford recently graduated from the alternative Helensview School and was arrested the day before his graduation ceremony.

According to Karpinski, Rutherford was on his way to pick up his cap and gown on June 1 when police surrounded him near Northeast 22nd Avenue and took him into custody.

Police announced Rutherford's arrest the next day and released his mug shot to the media. He was arraigned June 3 and charged with Washington's murder.

The murder charge was dropped the next day, but Rutherford has been held for eight more days on the probation violation charges.

Police spokeswoman Detective Mary Wheat said police are cautious about what information they release after shootings.

"We try not to inflame the situation because we don't want to create any more shootings," she said. "They're the hardest cases we have."

She said community involvement in solving homicide was of the utmost importance for the Police Bureau. "We really need the community's support in solving these cases," she said, "but we don't always get it."

She recommended that if Rutherford fears for his safety, he should call police for protection.

At a community meeting in Northeast Portland Friday, Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman repeated the comments he made at Washington's funeral on Monday.

"There's a new imperative among all of us, and that's to find the person who shot Borisshell," he said

Community leaders at the meeting said they were worried about the possibility of more violence, especially with school letting out and warm weather approaching.

As Rutherford left court in a prison-issued gray sweatshirt, he had asked that his belly chain be loosened, a request that was granted.

After McKnight's ruling, he turned to his mother, Shawnti Eaden, 39, and mouthed, "I love you."

Michael Russell; michaelrussell@news.oregonian.com