Wanted man injures officer in Powellhurst-Gilbert crash

Find out why Portland Police say this is a ‘dangerous suspect’ and he’s also their ‘most wanted’, after he slipped away from a massive manhunt in outer East Portland …

Scores of law enforcement officers, from multiple agencies, are called into the Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood after a wanted man flees in a stolen truck – injuring a Portland Police Bureau officer.

Story and photos by David F. Ashton

For the better part of Sunday, July 24, SE Powell Boulevard was shut down — after a crash by a wanted man in a stolen truck – who hit a Portland Police Bureau (PPB) East Precinct officer while making a getaway.

It started at 8:39 a.m., when a PPB Public Safety Support Specialist (PS3) was sent to a report of a stolen vehicle near SE 153^rd Avenue, along Powell Boulevard.

This is the stolen pickup truck that caught the attention of a PPB Public Safety Support Specialist. PPB image

When the PS3 arrived, he saw people around the vehicle – a blue Ford F250 pickup truck.

Because the truck was now an “occupied stolen vehicle”, the PS3 called for an officer, who came to look into the situation.

Sometime during that investigation, the suspect got into the Ford and attempted to flee, striking the officer with the stolen truck. The suspect then hit another vehicle on SE Powell Boulevard – a Dodge Journey 5XT SUV.

PPB officers discuss the evidence found in the investigation with a sergeant.

That near head-on crash spun around the Dodge, which was occupied by two people.

The injured officer was transported to an area hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening, injuries. An elderly female passenger in the Dodge SUV was taken to an area hospital with unknown injuries.

More officers were called into the area and they soon found the stolen Ford pickup – but the driver had fled parked it and run off.

Officers established a perimeter and began a large search of the area from SE 148th Avenue to 152nd Avenue, and from SE Division Street to Stark Street.

A PPB Forensics Division criminalist photographs the smashed-up Dodge SUV.

PPB units, like this on stopped facing northbound on SE 148^th Avenue at Division Street keep a lookout for the fleeing suspect.

Eventually, as many as 54 law enforcement units were working the case – including Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office deputies, Gresham Police Department officers, two PPB police dog Canine Unit teams – and the PPB Air Support Unit was slowly circling overhead looking down.

The PPB’s Major Crash Team was also dispatched to investigate the hit and run wreck that injured both the officer and a community member.

Suspect identified

Officials identify as the missing suspect this man, 33-year-old Jacob Matthew Ray Anderson – already a wanted man. The photo showing him with long hair was taken in 2019; the shaved-head portrait in from 2020.

At the scene of the original incident, PPB officials said that they already knew the identity of the suspect, but they didn’t make it public until July 27. The PPB is calling 33-year-old Jacob Matthew Ray Anderson a “dangerous suspect”.

In addition to being wanted in Multnomah County, Anderson has warrants out of Benton County, Lincoln County, and Clackamas County. Anderson is also the suspect in other Portland cases, and was identified as the suspect in this case due to Bureau members’ previous interactions with him. Anderson’s most recent arrest by the Portland Police Bureau was on June 29, 2022.

At that time, East Precinct officers responded to a crash in at SE 157th Avenue, a block north of Division Street. Officers arrived to find Anderson inside a vehicle that crashed into another vehicle, and then into a tree. Anderson was unresponsive after officers’ attempts at rousing him, but he regained consciousness after Portland Fire and AMR units administered aid.

Cited, but then released from custody
Anderson was taken to a hospital due to the condition in which he was found; and was cited for Driving Under the Influence (Controlled Substance), Reckless Endangering, Reckless Driving, Possession of a Controlled Substance, and being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm – a Class C Felony. Shortly a judge released him from custody – “on his own recognizance”.

Anderson is 5’9” tall with a slim build, weighing approximately 160 lbs. He was last seen with wavy brown hair around 2-3 inches long, but has been known to change his appearance by shaving his head. Anderson has a mole on his left cheek.

Anyone who sees Jacob Anderson is asked to immediately call 911. If you have information you believe might be useful in locating Anderson, please email crimetips@portlandoregon.gov; and reference Case No. 22-198085.

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