See what court documents reveal about this late-night robbery and fatal shooting of a convenience store clerk, in outer East Portland …
This outer East Portland convenience store was the target of an armed robber, who is accused of shooting market’s clerk and killing him.
By David F. Ashton
On the night of Friday, March 27, Portland Police Bureau (PPB) North Precinct officers were dispatched at 11:48 p.m. to the Plaid Pantry convenience store in the Cully Neighborhood, at 6060 NE Columbia Boulevard. Someone had called in about finding an unconscious person.
First-arriving officers arrived and found an adult male on the floor behind the counter. He was pronounced dead at the scene, of what appeared to be a gunshot wound.
In the days that followed, authorities identified the victim as 57-year-old the clerk who had been on duty there at the time – Ernesto Castellanos of Portland. According to the Medical Examiner’s official statement, Castellanos “died of homicide caused by a gunshot wound”.
Court documents and a probable cause affidavit filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court outline, in stark detail, what investigators say happened that night – and how they came to arrest the suspect, 21-year-old Michale James Paine.
Shoppers who came in the store say that they didn’t see the clerk, until they left, and looked inside the window. East Portland News image
Discovery of the victim
According to a probable cause affidavit, customers arriving shortly before midnight first realized something was wrong. One witness told police he initially found the store doors locked and waited in the parking lot, where he saw the clerk, Ernesto Castellanos, unlock the entrance. A short time later, the witness went inside and passed a man wearing sunglasses and a black hoodie as that man left the store.
The witness did some quick shopping, then went to the counter but didn’t see a clerk. After several minutes of waiting for service, other customers also arrived and also waited, until they left the store. Outside, the original witness looked back through the window and saw Castellanos lying on the floor behind the counter.
The customers rushed back inside, began CPR on Castellanos, and one person went to flag down police and medics. Castellanos was later pronounced dead.
This man, Ernesto Castellanos, was killed in the robbery, officials say. Family provided image
The court filing showed that the Medical Examiner determined he had been shot once in the left side of his chest and once in the back of his neck, concluding that either of the two wounds, alone, would have been fatal.
Surveillance footage and initial investigation
Shortly after Castellanos’ body was discovered, homicide detectives began reviewing surveillance video from inside the Plaid Pantry.
Surveillance video clearly captures the armed robbery suspect walking into the store.
The affidavit describes the suspect’s actions on the video in clinical, step-by-step fashion, underscoring how routine the movements appeared until the moment of the shooting.
Detectives later summarized the suspect’s conduct this way:
“We viewed additional video surveillance of the incident which included the suspect … entering the store, walking toward the east wall, touching the screen to the lid dispenser, touching and leaving behind extra lids on the counter and floor, getting a beverage at the self-service beverage area, waiting at the checkout counter, drinking from the Plaid Pantry cup, leaving the Plaid Pantry cup on the counter, shooting the victim two times, walking behind the checkout counter, touching the cash register screen and drawer, touching the coin machine lever, kicking the victim, touching the victim near the right shoulder, and then leaving the store.”
After surveillance video still images, like this one, were widely distributed, the suspect reportedly gave himself up to police.
Identification and arrest of the suspect
In the wake of the killing, Portland police circulated surveillance images of the suspect, hoping the public could help identify him. Just hours after those images were released, on Monday, March 30, Paine surrendered to police.
An officer responded to Paine at NE Prescott Street and Cully Boulevard, and took him into custody.
On his way to the Multnomah County Detention Center (MCDC), according to the affidavit, Paine began talking about the shooting without being prompted while he was in the patrol car. The arresting officer later reported that Paine asked: “Have you ever f—– up in your life so bad, you don’t know what to do after?”
Paine then added, again according to the affidavit: “He only had $25 in the till.” Court papers further stated that Paine “then started talking about how what he did was not worth $25.”
As the homicide investigation continues, the store’s front doors remain chained and padlocked shut. Courtesy KOIN 6 NEWS
Suspect’s Account of the Shooting
Later that evening of March 30, around 8 p.m., a detective interviewed Paine, after reading him his Miranda rights. During the interview, according to the court document, Paine admitted that he was “responsible for shooting Castellanos,” and acknowledged that “what he did was wrong.”
Paine told detectives he had gone to the Plaid Pantry with the intention of robbing it. At the checkout counter, he said, he pointed a gun at Castellanos and ordered him to hand over the money in the register. According to Paine’s account in the affidavit, Castellanos “did not appear to believe that he was actually going to rob him.” Paine then shot Castellanos twice.
After the shooting, Paine reportedly went behind the counter, accessed the register, and took the money.
Paine also told detectives he had been drunk, high on cannabis, at the time of the incident. Despite that, the affidavit notes that he recalled the event in detail and again “acknowledged that what he did was wrong.”
Paine was booked into the MCDC on March 31 at 12:26 a.m. and booked in on three Felony charges: Murder in the First Degree, Robbery in the First Degree, and Unlawful Use of a Weapon. At his arraignment, he pleaded not guilty. Paine is currently being held without bail.
Recovering evidence
According to the affidavit, Paine told investigators where they could find evidence linked to the crime. In a shed where Paine had been living, detectives reported came across a .22 pistol with several spent bullet shell casings and unspent ammunition, as well as a pair of sunglasses. These items appeared to match elements from the surveillance footage.
This is the revolver that detectives assert was used in the homicide. PPB provided image
Investigators also searched trash bins along NE 62nd Avenue. There, the affidavit says, they found pieces of a distinctive Michael Myers hoodie – seen being worn in the surveillance video – and picked up fragments of the hoodie as evidence.
21-year-old Michale James Paine appears on court at his arraignment. Multnomah County Court image
Court proceedings and potential penalties
Paine made his first appearance in Multnomah County Circuit Court on Tuesday afternoon, March 31.
The Multnomah County District Attorney, Nathan Vasquez, told reporters, “This is a man who lost his life for such a ridiculous thing – not that there’s any amount that makes it worth it, but this is – it’s particularly heartbreaking when we look at how little money was involved in this; the loss of life is really devastating.”
In court, robbery and homicide suspect Michale James Paine hears the charges against him. Multnomah County Court image
Vasquez indicated that if Paine is found guilty, he could face life in prison. Paine is scheduled to appear in court again later next month to face those charges.
Anyone who has information about this incident, and haven’t yet spoken with or contacted detectives, email it to homicidetips@police.portlandoregon.gov and Reference Case No. 26-91195.
Second deadly robbery in four months
This convenience store robbery/murder is the second this year. Castellanos’ death marks the second time a convenience store clerk has been shot and killed during a robbery in Portland in the past four months.
In the Hazelwood neighborhood, Santi Ram Rai, the clerk at 3D’s Market was shot and killed on December 9 – by teenagers – in the course of a robbery. CLICK HERE to see our report of that incident.
© 2026 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News™
