Week #194 Shooting Report | Learn of the trio of criminals who Portland Police arrested after this carjacking. Also, shots again ring out at Mt. Scott City Park …
Officers are called out to look into two non-fatal shootings this week in outer East Portland.
Story and photos by David F. Ashton
It’s been a good week in outer East Portland, with no shooting deaths. However, there have been numerous “Shots Fired” calls, to which Portland Police Bureau (PPB) East Precinct officers have responded.
Along with a carjacking. And again, someone shot up Mt. Scott Park this week.
February 22
Trio of suspects arrested in Powellhurst-Gilbert shooting and carjacking
PPB East Precinct District Officers race to the area where a man was pummeled, and his van was shot up – then stolen from him.
This incident began late Thursday evening, February 22 along SE Harold Street at 128th Avenue – when a man reportedly carjacked a Ford Econoline van at gunpoint.
PPB East Precinct officers were sent there at 11:19 p.m., and learned from the victim that a man had fired two shots into his Ford van. Then, officers were told, the suspect handed his gun to an associate – and then assaulted the victim – before driving away in his van. Two other individuals, who were also involved, drove away in a purple Suzuki SUV.
Not far away, officers find the carjacked van, with bullet holes in the side, and perform a traffic stop. Courtesy KPTV Fox News 12
The victim, an adult male, sustained minor injuries from being beaten up by the car thief, and was taken to a local hospital by ambulance for treatment.
The carjacking suspect, 30-year-old Robert Michael Morgan, is first “detained” by officers, then arrested. Courtesy KPTV Fox News 12
Additional responding officers spotted the stolen Ford van driving away, and stopped it. They detained the driver, 30-year-old Robert Michael Morgan.
The PPB’s Major Crimes detectives responded to the scene to assist in the investigation, and determined that Morgan had fired shots into the occupied van.
Morgan was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center (MCDC) on charges of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, Robbery in the First Degree (carjacking), Theft in the First Degree, Assault in the Third Degree, Robbery in the Second Degree (Carjacking), and Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle.
At his arraignment, Morgan learned that he’d be facing nine Felony charges, and was transferred to Inverness Jail where he’s currently behind bars, without bail.
But wait! There’s more …
Later that evening, officers located the purple Suzuki SUV in the parking lot of the 7-Eleven store at the corner of SE 122nd Avenue and Powell Boulevard. Officers coordinated with PPB Major Crimes detectives to conduct a traffic stop on the purple vehicle also involved in the carjacking.
The two subjects in it were detained. One was 25-year-old Zachary Allen Rose of Portland. He was booked into the MCDC on February 23 at 4:01 a.m. on a Fugitive Warrant and a County “Hold” with a $25,000 bail amount set. However, he was released later that same day to the Clackamas County Jail, where’s he being held on a Failure to Appear Theft II Warrant, in lieu of $25,000 bail – and a no-bail Parole Violation warrant.
Also arrested was 34-year-old Jeremy Allen Bute of Portland; who was booked into the MCDC on February 23 at 4:02 a.m. on four Felony and two Misdemeanor charges, including Felon Possessing a Loaded Firearm, as well as stolen vehicle charges. Currently, Bute is being held in Inverness Jail in lieu of $5,000 bail.
This is an ongoing investigation. If you have information about this incident, contact Detective Brett Hawkinson at brett.hawkinson@police.portlandoregon.gov or crimetips@police.portlandoregon.gov and reference Case No. 24-44559.
February 23
Shots fired, again, at Mt. Scott Park
Mt. Scott-Arleta neighbors come out of their homes to talk with officers after reporting shots being fired on the perimeter of Mt. Scott City Park.
Since the June 23, 2023, shooting that we covered at Mt. Scott City Park, in which two teenagers were injured – one, shot in the neck – it’s been relatively quiet around this Mt. Scott-Arleta public space.
>> CLICK HERE to read about this shooting, as see video of that investigation.
However, on Friday evening, February 23, residents in the area were again bedeviled by a fusillade of shots.
PPB East Precinct officers responded, at 8:26 p.m., to SE Ramona Street at 74th Avenue, on the east side of the park, in the area of last June’s shooting.
Along the southern edge of the park, officers search for “evidence of shooting”.
“While officers were on their way, more neighbors called the 9-1-1 Center to report hearing shots near the park,” PPB Public Information Officer (nonsworn) Terri Wallo Strauss told East Portland News after the incident.
After the investigation got underway, officers were finding evidence of shooting along SE Knight Street, just east of 73rd Avenue, along the south side of Mt. Scott Park.
Along the park’s southern sidewalk, and in the grass, evidence markers show the location of spent bullet shell casings.
“Yes, in that area, officers recovered (spent bullet shell) casings and talked to some neighbors who came out to meet them,” Wallo Strauss said. “Officers did not locate any property damage, and there were no arrests.”
The incident was referred for follow-up to to the PPB’s Enhanced Community Safety Team (ECST). If you have information to about this latest shooting spree there, or if you know of gunfire damage from this incident, please e-mail crimetips@police.portlandoregon.gov, attn: ECST, and refer to Case No. 24-45277.
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Wow! By now it’s been 194 weeks of “Weekly Shooting Reports” at East Portland News. CLICK HERE to learn why our weekly “Shooting Report” articles began, and why they continue today.
© 2024 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News™
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