‘Shooting Report’ returns | INCLUDES VIDEO | Learn about these back-to-back shootings on Monday and Tuesday nights – first in Centennial, and then in Powellhurst-Gilbert …
Portland Police Bureau East Precinct officers block off streets as two deadly shooting investigations get underway this week.
Story and photos by David F. Ashton
With so many shootings and shooting homicides every week – for years – starting back in June 2020, East Portland News began combining them into one “Weekly Shooting Report”.
Fortunately, thanks to the good work of the Portland Police Bureau (PPB), while shooting murders have continued to occur across the City of Portland, they’ve substantially subsided in outer East Portland.
That is, alas, until this week …
March 17
Woman murdered in Centennial Shooting
In the Centennial neighborhood, SE Harrison Street is closed off while police officers, then homicide detectives, investigate what’s been called a gunshot murder.
After shots rang out on SE Harrison Street near 140th Avenue early on Monday, March 17, PPB East Precinct officers were dispatched to this residential portion of the Centennial neighborhood at 12:33 a.m.
The arriving officers found a woman dead, and cordoned off the area. PPB Homicide Unit detectives were called to the scene to investigate.
An ambulance had been summoned, but unfortunately the victim was declared deceased before it arrived.
Later that afternoon PPB officials revealed that a man had been taken into custody in connection to the shooting.
Arrested was 35-year-old Joshua Jacob Allen Thielbar. He booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center later that same afternoon, at 4:11 p.m., on charges of Murder in the Second Degree, Unlawful Use of a Firearm, and Felon in Possession of a Firearm.
At his arraignment, as seen on this still image from a court-based camera, murder suspect 35-year-old Joshua Jacob Allen Thielbar listened while his attorney entered a “not guilty” response to his charges.
At his arraignment, Thielbar learned that he was also being held on a US Marshall’s Detainer; request for bail was denied. Currently Thielbar is lodged in Multnomah County Inverness Jail.
Friends say that the shooting victim, Brianne Pardue, had a personality that “lit up a room” when she entered. Family provided photo
On March 18, Portland Police Homicide detectives revealed that the victim in this shooting was identified as 45-year-old Brianne Pardue, of Portland. The Medical Examiner determined she died of “homicide by gunshot wound”.
If you have information about this incident, and haven’t yet spoken with police, contact Detective Jeffery Pontius at Jeffery.Pontius@police.portlandoregon.gov (503) 823-0433 or Detective Stephen Gandy at Stephen.Gandy@police.portlandoregon.gov (503) 823-0449 and refer to Case No. 25-68221.
March 18
Man shot and killed in Powellhurst-Gilbert
As seen from SE Powell Boulevard, looking north along 136th Avenue – not quite halfway to Division Street – officers, crime scene investigators, and homicide detectives begin working on another deadly shooting incident.
About 22 hours after the early Monday shooting, a man was shot and killed in the Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood late on Tuesday, March 18th.
PPB East Precinct officers were dispatched at 10:15 p.m. to the intersection of SE 136th Avenue and Powell Boulevard.
Watch, as PPB Homicide Unit detectives come to investigate this shooting incident:
But, this shooting wasn’t at one of the businesses or establishments on that corner. The actual incident was about 0.2 mile north of SE Powell Boulevard on 136th Avenue, about halfway to Division Street.
“When officers arrived, they found a male victim suffering from apparent gunshot wounds,” a PPB spokesperson told reporters. “Despite officers’ efforts to provide life-saving measures, the man died at the scene.”
In the street are the PPB’s Forensics Unit truck, the “old standby” Mobile Command Unit, and detectives investigating the shooting.
Again, PPB Homicide Unit detectives were dispatched to investigate the murder.
Officials say it was this person, Junior Garza who died in this shooting. Family provided photo
On March 21, Portland Police revealed that it was 17-year-old Junior Garza, of Gresham, who died in this shooting. The Medical Examiner determined Garza died of homicide by gunshot wound.
If you have information about this incident, contact Detective Meghan Burkeen at meghan.burkeen@police.portlandoregon.gov 503-823-2092 or Detective Brian Sims at brian.sims@police.portlandoregon.gov 503-823-2079 – and say it concerns Case No. 25-070043.
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Hopefully, after retiring the Weekly Shooting Report after No. 242 at the end of December, 2024, there won’t be a need to restart it. To learn when, why, and how, the weekly “Shooting Report” articles began, and why they continued for so long, CLICK HERE.
© 2025 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News™
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