INCLUDES HUGE SERT CALL-OUT VIDEO | STABBING REPORT | Here’s the tragic story of a stabbing homicide in an outer East Portland home that triggered a SERT callout. And, in the Mall 205 Target store, police searched for a man – with a knife and a hatchet …
Dozens of Portland Police officers and Tactical teams are called to the Pleasant Valley neighborhood, blocking SE Foster Road, when a woman has been found stabbed to death in a house.
Story and photos by David F. Ashton
As shooting incidents decrease in outer East Portland neighborhoods, the number of crimes committed with edged weapons – like knives and hatchets – seems to be on the rise.
July 19
Woman dies in Pleasant Valley home stabbing
Everyone is turned back from SE Foster Road at 142nd Avenue as police vehicles and equipment fill the roadway — when a murder victim is found inside a house at the end of the cul-de-sac on SE 143rd Court.
The incident that started with six Portland Police Bureau (PPB) officers being dispatched to a reported stabbing on Saturday, July 19, at 12:32 p.m. When a murder victim is found, it turned into a callout of 31 officers, detectives, and investigators – to a single-family residence located south of SE Foster Road, near the dead end at 143rd Court.
Watch this video, and you’ll see one police vehicle after another arrives at the scene of the crime, and SERT officers move to search for the murderer:
It didn’t take long for two-lane SE Foster Road to be shut down, forcing vehicles to make a U-turn and find another way to their destination. At 1:20 p.m. PPB Public Information Officer Sargeant Kevin Allen messaged to reporters, “A police perimeter has been established around the location for several blocks. SE Foster Road is blocked between 142nd Avenue and 144th Lane.”
This PPB Tactical Unit officer grabs his gear from the back of his car to join the intense search for the suspect.
PPB vehicles of all descriptions came “Code-3” – with lights flashing, and sirens wailing – came to the scene of the crime. That included the big vehicles with their Special Emergency Response Team (SERT), an ambulance, and even a Gresham Fire Department engine company.
At the scene, PPB Public Information Officer Sargeant Kevin Allen speaks with reporters.
“Arriving officers located an adult female who was injured inside a home,” Sargeant Allen told reporters at the scene as the incident unfolded. “Emergency Medical Services were called into the home – and paramedics confirmed that the woman was dead.”
He added that five children were in the home at the time – and that, at this point, it was unknown if the suspect was still in the house, or anywhere near the area.
A PPB SERT armored vehicle pulls up …
… and the driver walks in to get orders from the command staff.
“Officers made a hasty rescue plan, and quickly got all five kids out of the home unharmed,” Sargeant Allen reported. Because of the possibility that a murderer might still be inside, or that there could possibly be other victims inside, were why SERT responded to the scene.”
As enough SERT members were ready, the officers went through the home, room-by-room. When East Portland News asked about a loud explosion that had been heard blocks away, Sargeant Allen replied, “At one point, they used a controlled [explosive] charge on the garage door to safely gain access.”
Although they knew it was about to take place, officers are startled when the “controlled charge” blew off the house’s garage door.
The PPB’s Mobile Command Unit serves as headquarters for the Homicide Division detectives who take over the investigation.
With no additional victims foundd, and with the suspect confirmed to have left the area, many of the officers began to leave the area to the PPB Homicide Division detectives and forensics investigators, as they began their work.
SE Foster Road reopened to traffic at 4:23 p.m.
Suspect located, arrested, in Vancouver
It’s unclear how, but the murder suspect was somehow located in Vancouver, Washington area. The Vancouver Police Department (VPD), coordinating with the PPB, made contact with the suspect. At about 3:50 p.m. the same afternoon, he was taken into custody by VPD.
Our still-frame from the “court-cam” shows suspect S. Mate Joseph, dressed in a “safety smock”, at his arraignment in Clark County Court.
Arrested was 28-year-old S. Mate Joseph, of Battle Ground, WA, who was booked in the Clark County Jail on an arrest warrant for Burglary in the First Degree and Murder in the Second Degree – specifically designated as Domestic Violence.
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s office has initiated extradition proceedings to bring Joseph to Oregon.
The victim has been identified as 24-year-old Neilyann Ysam. Family-provided photo
On July 22, PPB officials identified the victim as 24-year-old Neilyann Ysam. The Medical Examiner determined the cause of death as a stab wound, and the manner of death a homicide.
The investigation is continuing by the Portland Police Homicide Unit. If you have information about this case, please contact Detective Brian Sims at Brian.Sims@police.portlandoregon.gov (503) 823-2079 or Detective Meghan Burkeen at Meghan.Burkeen@police.portlando… (503) 823-2092, and please reference case number 25-192949.
July 21
A knife-armed man found, arrested in storeroom of Mall 205’s Target store
Police cordon off the parking lot of the Mall 205 Target store, after a man attacks a security guard with a knife and hatchet – and then turns and sprints into the store. Courtesy KPTV Fox 12 Oregon News
About two hours after the Mall 205 Target store opened for business on Monday, July 21, a scuffle broke out between a man, who was armed with a knife and hatchet, and a store security guard. The guard received a minor injury in the confrontation.
PPB East Precinct officers, who were dispatched for a “Disturbance-with-Weapon” at 10:29 a.m., learned that the blade-brandishing man had run into the store. Paramedics had been dispatched by the 9-1-1 Center as well; the security officer was treated at the scene for a minor injury and didn’t go a hospital.
Inside the store, officers formulate a plan to find and detain the suspect. Courtesy KPTV Fox 12 Oregon News
After evacuating the store, officers searched the premises. They eventually the suspect up in the second-story inventory shelving area in the back of the premises – and the man still displayed a knife.
The PPB’s Enhanced Crisis Intervention Team (ECIT) officers were called in, and they began talking and negotiating with the suspect – for hours on end.
After the man surrenders, he’s escorted to a waiting police car. Courtesy KPTV Fox 12 Oregon News
At 4:01p.m., the suspect dropped the knife and was taken into custody. The suspect, identified as 41-year-old Michael G. Harper, of Portland, was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center (MCDC) at 6:31 p.m. on Felony charges of Attempted Assault II, Unlawful Use of a Weapon, and Assault IV.
After his arraignment, Harper was moved to Inverness Jail, where he’s currently being held without bail.
The PPB Major Crimes Team is continuing to investigate this incident.
© 2025 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News™
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