UPDATED x 2 | INCLUDES INVESTIGATION VIDEOS | Week #180 Shooting Report | Gunfire erupts in Glenfair, Cully and Parkrose Heights, with deadly results — in the days leading up to the Thanksgiving Day Holiday …
Proceeding from one deadly shooting to another, the Portland Police Bureau’s Mobile Command Unit provides a temporary “office” for Homicide Unit detectives and investigators to do their grim work this week.
Story and photos by David F. Ashton
It’s sad that, as the Holiday Season is upon us, family and friends of two women and one man are now grieving their loss. All were shot to death – in each case, apparently close to where they lived.
These incidents kept Portland Police Bureau (PPB) North Precinct officers, Homicide Unit detectives, and Forensics Division staff occupied with the grim task of investigating three gunshot homicides.
November 18
Woman dies in Glenfair shooting, suspect arrested
Looking south on NE 160th Avenue toward Everett Court, the street is filled with police vehicles for the investigation of gunshot homicide.
A “Shooting-with Weapon” call was dispatched on November 18 at 6:38 p.m., sending PPB East Precinct and Focused Intervention Team (FIT) to the 15900 block of NE Everett Court.
Arriving officers found a deceased adult woman there, and began closing off the street.
As a cold rain drenches the area, PPB detectives and crime scene investigators are at work along NE Everett Court.
In this area, NE Everett Court runs between NE 157th Avenue and 160th Avenue. To report the story, we traveled south on NE 160th Avenue from Glisan Street, but found the road was blocked off at Flanders Street, filled with patrol vehicles, detective’s cars, and the PPB Mobile Command Unit.
So we approached the area along NE Everett Court from 157th Avenue, and even in heavy rain we found the crime scene (but not the victim).
Watch, as this investigation, undertaken in a blowing rainstorm, gets underway:
Soon, 14 PPB officers and detectives had gathered and were hard at work.
A PPB Forensics Unit worker has his camera gear covered with a plastic bag as he documents the crime scene.
You’re not allowed to see the booking photo of 43-year-old Donnell Lamarr Watson. CLICK HERE to learn why.
It didn’t take long for detectives to identify a suspect.
Officers arrested 43-year-old Donnell Lamarr Watson, of Gresham, and booked him into the Multnomah County Detention Center (MCDC) on November 19 at 3:30 a.m. on charges of Manslaughter in the First Degree with a Firearm, and Felon in Possession of a Firearm.
At his arraignment, Watson learned that he’d be facing in court both Felony charges for which he was arrested. Currently, Watson is behind bars at Multnomah County Inverness Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.
This woman, Shamesha Danaee Allen, was the victim of the fatal gunshot wounds, the medical examiner says. Family provided photo
On November 20, officials revealed that the homicide victim had been identified as 45-year-old Shamesha Danaee Allen. The medical examiner determined that she had indeed died of “homicide by gunshot wound”.
If you have information about this incident and have not already spoken to police, contact Detective Brian Sims at 503-823-2079, Brian.Sims@police.portlandoregon.gov or Detective Meghan Burkeen at 503-823-2092, Meghan.Burkeen@police.portlandoregon.gov and reference Case No. 23-300353.
November 21
UPDATED January 10, 2024 – Killer charged with murder:
Little known about Cully shooting that kills man
Again, the PPB Mobile Command Unit arrives in the rain to provide shelter for detectives and officers investigating the next shooting.
Again, in our northern neighborhoods – this time, near NE Cully Boulevard, between Wygant and Going streets — shots were reported on November 21 at 9:55 p.m.
PPB North Precinct officers were dispatched to investigate another “Shooting–with Weapon” incident at a house in the 4700 block of NE 62nd Avenue. When officers came upon the scene, they found a dead adult male.
Again, detectives assigned to the PPB Homicide Unit responded to the scene to investigate.
An another rainstorm sweeps across outer East Portland, PPB Homicide detectives gather evidence after another deadly shooting. Courtesy KATV-TV 2 News
“The suspect or suspects left the scene before police were called, and no immediate arrests were made – no additional information is available for release at this time,” was the terse statement given by a PPB spokesperson.
UPDATE:
Deceased in this shooting has been identified as this man, Eric Bankhead. Family provided photo
On November 29, officials revealed 33-year-old Eric Bankhead of Portland was the victim who died in this shooting. The Medical Examiner determined that he died of homicide by gunshot wound.Again, if you have information helpful in solving this case, contact Detective Brent Christensen at brent.christensen@police.portlandoregon.gov or (503) 823-2087 or Detective Ryan Foote at ryan.foote@police.portlandoregon.gov or (503) 823-0781. When you do, reference Case No. 23-302936.
UPDATE: January 10, 2024
Man charged in murder
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office announced that Steven Joseph Bricker, 35, was arraigned on charges for the fatal shooting of Eric Bankhead.
On January 5, a grand jury, returned a ‘true bill of indictment’ for the following charges:
- One count of Murder in the Second Degree with a Firearm
- One count of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree with a Firearm
- One count of Unlawful Use of a Weapon (Firearm)
- One count of Felon in Possession of a Firearm
Upon return of the indictment, a warrant was issued for Bricker’s arrest.
On January 8, 2024, Representatives with the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force arrested Bricker, and he was lodged at the Multnomah County Detention Center.
Bricker was arraigned on January 9 and entered a plea of not guilty. He remains in custody.
November 22
Woman shot to death near her Parkrose Heights apartment front door
NE Weidler Street is closed off west of 112th Avenue as the third shooting homicide investigation gets underway.
As the sun sets, officers stand guard at the driveway of the Weidler 111 apartment complex in the Gateway District.
As winter’s early darkness was approaching on November 22, at at:59 p.m., PPB East Precinct officers were dispatched on the report of a shooting” call to the Weidler 111 apartment complex, on the north side of NE Weidler Street.
At 4:09 p.m., an East Portland News reader alerted us with this message: “Shots fired near Halsey & NE 111th Avenue; hearing screams, then sirens [after] 6 minutes.” We headed that way through pre-Holiday rush-hour traffic and found the crime scene, directly across the street from Jet Black Coffee, in the Gateway District.
Officers talk with a witness, near the crime scene.
As PPB officers pulled up, stunned-looking residents of the apartment complex pointed out an adult female, outside a residence, dead at the scene, at the far north end of the apartment complex driveway.
Officers were gathering in the area of a fence, thought at first to be along a street. But in this part of the Parkrose Heights neighborhood, the next road north — NE Schuyler Street — doesn’t go through from NE 111th Avenue to 112th Avenue, due to the odd offset of a property in midblock.
As time goes on, more officers and investigators arrive in the area.
During the investigation, NE Weidler Street was closed between 108th Avenue and 112th Avenue – fording the routing of traffic circuitously through the neighborhood.
Watch as this investigation takes place, in our exclusive video coverage:
“We were just making vegan sandwiches, and all of a sudden, we heard seven or ten gunshots,” reported Michelle Berman, who owns Rad Magic Subs – a food truck stationed in front of Jet Black Coffee.
“My husband and I saw a couple of people run across the street,” Berman continued. “Within two or three minutes there were probably five or ten cops and some ambulances here,” she told both East Portland News and Joe English of KATU-TV 2 News in a co-interview.
PPB Sergeants discuss some of the evidence, and witness statements gathered.
Just how many shots were actually fired differed among those who spoke with reporters. Some said “two or three”, another said “perhaps twenty” gunshots were heard.
Another resident nearby where the shooting took place told East Portland News, “We heard 13 shots – first there was one, ‘bang’ and then the rest were ‘pow-pow-pow-pow’, like a machine gun.”
Once again, the PPB Homicide Unit detectives take over the investigation of this homicide.
So far, detectives haven’t released any findings in their investigations. The word from PPB officials was, “The suspect or suspects left before police were called and no immediate arrests were made.”
UPDATE
The homicide victim has now been identified as 40-year-old Nicole Lashawn Davis.
The victim in the fatal shooting 40-year-old Nicole Lashawn Davis, of Portland. The Medical Examiner determined that she died of homicide by gunshot wound.
If you have a tip, or a video, that could help solve this homicide, contact Detective Meghan Burkeen at Meghan.Burkeen@police.portlandoregon.gov or 503-823-2092, or Detective Brian Sims at Brian.Sims@police.portlandoregon.gov or 503-823-2079. When you do, reference Case No. 23-303557.
This is the 66th homicide of 2023 in Portland.
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Why was the weekly ‘Shooting Report’ started?” CLICK HERE to learn when, and why, this series of articles continues now into its 180th week.
© 2023 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News ™
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