Gunshot ends fight; shooter jailed

Find out why police say they believe this Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood shooting was not gang related …

Police flood into the area to quell a fight – but end up ducking for cover, after they hear gunshots.

Story and photos by David F. Ashton
Police officers know well that no “disturbance call” can ever be taken lightly.

So, Portland Police Bureau (PPB) East Precinct district officers used caution as they headed to a house on SE 122^nd Avenue, just north of SE Powell Boulevard, on January 5, at about 10:00 p.m.

“Officers arrived in the area and saw several people fighting,” explained PPB Public Information Officer Sgt. Pete Simpson. “Offices then heard a gunshot, and the crowd ran away in different directions.”

After calling for “code-three cover” – bringing immediate response from command staff and other district officers – police closed down the area. “Several people were contacted by officers, and nobody was found to have any gunshots wounds,” said Simpson.

Information which the officers uncovered at the scene caused them to bring in the Gang Enforcement Team and Gun Task Force to further the investigation. “A handgun was recovered at the scene,” added Simpson.

As it turned out, this wasn’t a gang-related shooting, investigators decided.

Police are holding this man, Robert Earl Randle, considered responsible for the shooting that disrupted the neighborhood. MCDC booking photo

On January 8, at 3:53 p.m., detectives arrested 26-year-old Robert Earl Randle in connection with the incident.

“Through the investigation, detectives learned of Randle’s identity, and that the shooting was related to domestic violence rather than gang violence,” Simpson later stated.

Randle was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center at 7:47 p.m. on charges of Unlawful Use of a Weapon; Menacing (Domestic Violence); Discharging a Firearm in the City – plus three counts of Tampering with a Witness (a Class C Felony) – and he remains in custody in lieu of combined bail of $30,000.

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