UPDATED: While some police investigate the shooting, others are examining a vehicle they believe was used in that outer East Portland crime …
Police officers, detectives, and criminalists converge on the Centennial neighborhood home in the 1700 block of SE 162nd Avenue.
Story and photos by David F. Ashton
After hearing gunshots ring out near a 14-home cul-de-sac to the west of SE 162nd Avenue, between SE Mill and Clay streets, several residents called the 9-1-1 Center just before 11:00 a.m. on September 23.
The first Portland Police Bureau (PPB) East Precinct district officers were there within two minutes of being dispatched; about a dozen others followed.
Crime scene tape is strung around two blocks of SE 162nd Avenue, as police establish the crime scene.
“Officers and medical personnel arrived and located a male adult victim inside the residence,” reported PPB Public Information Officer Sgt. Pete Simpson. “Medical personnel confirmed that the victim was deceased; the cause and manner of death has not been determined.”
Before noon, the PPB Mobile Precinct command truck was parked right across SE 162nd Avenue, and Homicide detectives, Criminalists from the Forensic Evidence Division and the Multnomah County Medical Examiner, began their investigation.
An investigator looks at evidence found at the scene of the deadly shooting.
“I think the cops know who they’re looking for,” confided Jack Mowlem, who said he lived close to the crime scene.
About any “persons of interest”, Simpson revealed, “Preliminary information indicates that two people, a male and a female, ran from the scene; they have not been located.”
A couple of hours into the investigation, Simpson made public that a 45-year-old man had died inside the residence. “Based on the preliminary investigation, detectives believe this is a homicide,” he said. At that time the identity of the deceased was not disclosed.
About a dozen blocks to the northwest, along SE 148th Avenue between SE Main and Stark streets, officers gather where a car that may have been involved in the murder had been abandoned.
Not long after the shooting investigation began, officers were directed to a green-blue car, parked in the driveway of a house in the 800 block of SE 148th Avenue. The car was partially blocked from view by a gold colored van, abnormally parked across the driveway.
A Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office K9 team searches for clues at the SE 148th Avenue location.
“Officers responded to the report of a suspicious vehicle in the area after the primary call, and found a vehicle that may, or may not, be related to the incident,” Simpson said “Detectives are processing the vehicle for evidence, to determine if it is related to the homicide.”
Later speaking with reporters, Simpson said that without knowing more details about what transpired before the crime, “We are concerned that a suspect, with a gun, left the scene.”
Throughout the afternoon, SE 162nd Avenue is closed to traffic, while the investigation continues.
UPDATE
“The victim in Friday’s homicide has been identified as 45-year-old Michael Scott Hoven; the Oregon State Medical Examiner determined that Hoven died of multiple gunshot wounds,” Simpson said over the weekend.
“No arrests have been made and detectives are seeking help from the public,” Simpson added.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact Detective Bryan Steed at 503-823-0395, bryan.steed@portlandoregon.gov; or, Detective Michele Michaels at 503-823-0692, michele.michaels@portlandoregon.gov.
© 2016 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News
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