Parkrose man murdered by gunfire, as shootings continue

Shootings in outer East Portland continue. From Lents to Parkrose, ‘Shots Fired’ calls abound; violent people continue to use guns – this week, in a homicide, a carjacking, and a bar shooting …

Across outer East Portland, shootings continue; one ended in homicide.

Story and photos by David F. Ashton

Again this week, Portland Police Bureau (PPB) officers in our area were kept busy responding to “Shots Fired” and “Shooting – with Weapon” calls. And, although shots were not fired during a truck-jacking, that vehicle was taken at gunpoint.

Fortunately, Portland’s top elected official says they are “making plans” to stem the bloodshed. To learn more about those “plans”, read on …

July 17
Man shot and killed in Parkrose

An officer stands by, while investigators look into the shooting that killed a man in Parkrose.

There’s little information about this shooting incident – one that dispatched Portland Police Bureau (PPB) North Precinct officers on July 17 at 6:28 a.m. A man had been shot on NE Sandy Boulevard near 113th Avenue – at, or near, the Courtesy Inn Motel.

Officers found an “unresponsive victim”, attempted lifesaving measures and requested paramedics, but the victim was dead. PPB Homicide Division detectives were called in to investigate.

Exactly where, or why, Joseph Douglas Dewey was murdered by gunfire remains unknown. Social Media image

The following day, officials revealed that the deceased man was 34-year-old Joseph Douglas Dewey of Portland.

The Oregon State Medical Examiner conducted an autopsy and determined that Dewey died from a gunshot wound, and ruled the death a homicide. No arrests have yet been made and no suspect information is being released.
Anyone with information about this killing is encouraged to contact Detective Shaye Samora at Shaye.Samora@portlandoregon.gov; 503-823-0768 or Detective Erik Kammerer at Erik.Kammerer@portlandoregon.gov; 503-823-0762.

July 19
Driver hijacked at gunpoint in Powellhurst-Gilbert

Officers find the hijacked vehicle outside a convenience store, but the suspects had inconveniently taken off on foot.

Police dispatchers sent officers out at 12:58 a.m. on July 19, after a victim reported that a truck had been stolen – at gunpoint – by a group of men near the Briarwood East Apartments, in the 3300 block of SE 122nd Avenue, not far north of Powell Boulevard.

The location of the hijacked truck wasn’t a mystery. The victim was actively tracking the location of the stolen vehicle, because a cell phone with GPS capability was left in it, when the truck was stolen – and provided updates on the truck’s location.

Following the tracking information, officers found the truck on Powell Boulevard and SE 124th Avenue, in the parking area of a minimart. “As officers approached, they saw two men in the truck and two other men near it; all four men spotted the police and fled into the neighborhood,” a PPB spokesperson said.

A PPB SERT officer gets his gear, to search for armed hijackers.
More than a dozen police units were called in to form a containment area. “Because officers believed they had armed robbery suspects contained within the perimeter, they called for assistance from the Special Emergency Reaction Team (SERT) and the Crisis Negotiation Team (CNT),” the police official said.

But by 4:18 a.m., the SERT officers had completed a yard-by-yard search of the area, and didn’t find the robbery suspects. The investigation into this armed robbery is ongoing.

July 19
Shots fired in Lents

Officers definitely find “evidence of gunfire” here, in the Lents neighborhood.

What came in as a “Vehicle Stolen – Priority” call on July 19 at 7:18 p.m. became a “Shots Fired” call when officers arrived at what turned out to be a shooting on SE Henderson Street, a block north of Flavel Street, near SE 87th Avenue.

“One occupied residence was struck by gunfire, and multiple shell casings were located in the street,” a PPB sergeant said about the incident. “There are no known victims at this time.”

The investigation is ongoing.

July 22
Argay Terrace bar shooting leaves three injured, one critically

After a shooting in this tavern, officers close off the scene, help the injured, and begin an investigation. Courtesy KOIN TV News 6

PPB North Precinct officers reported finding a “chaotic scene” on July 22, after they were dispatched to the Venture Inn at 10:01 p.m. that evening.

As they pulled up to the establishment located on NE Sandy Boulevard at 139^th Avenue, officers found numerous witnesses and three people injured.

“One adult male had a gunshot wound to the chest; another adult male was hit in the upper leg and an adult female was shot in the hip,” a PPB official told media. “Officers applied first aid, including at least one tourniquet, to the victims until Portland Fire & Rescue and ambulances took over the victim’s medical care; all three were taken to local hospitals by ambulance – one male remains in critical condition,” the spokesperson said.

This is the Smith & Wesson .38 Special pistol officials say a brave witness took from the gunman. PPB provided image

Officers heard how patrons of the bar tackled the suspect, a male, and tried to hold him down until police arrived, but he was able to get up and escape. A patron did wrestle away the gun and passed it along to police.
The PPB’s Enhanced Community Safety Team was called in to investigate. If anyone has information about this case, please reference Case No. 21-201085 and e-mail crimetips@portlandoregon.gov.

Mayor holds ‘gun violence’ press conference

Shooting violence is “… a pandemic that needs to be addressed with adequate resources,” says Mayor Ted Wheeler in a video press conference.

In response, primarily to the incident in which multiple people were shot downtown on Saturday, July 17, at about 2 a.m. in the 300 block of SW 3rd Avenue, Portland’s Chief of Police and Mayor Ted Wheeler held an online press conference that afternoon.

Among other things, the Mayor vowed that he’d “work to clarify the needs” of the PPB, and talked about creating a “five-year plan, with tools, training, and personnel”. He added, “We need to bring these pieces together to reduce gun violence.”

The Mayor also referenced the gunshot murder in Parkrose on NE Sandy Boulevard in his remarks. He called shooting incidents “… a pandemic that needs to be addressed with adequate resources; it’s pretty obvious from where I sit that we do not have adequate resources deployed on our streets.”

Wheeler added, “I will fight for additional resources; I will fight for additional police officers: I will fight for more tools, or whatever support the Police Bureau needs to get its job done.”

Grim Statistics
Preliminary information is that there have been 651 shooting incidents in the City of Portland so far this year – 241 in East Precinct, compared to 140 last year; 269 in North Precinct, compared to 90 in 2020.

Outer East Portland residents hope Wheeler’s “five-year plan” to stop the bloodshed caused by shootings will be successful. And, others wonder how many more shootings, and murders, will take place, before this plan is fully enacted.

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