Week #139 Shooting Report | TWO INVESTIGATION VIDEOS | 15 PHOTOS |Shootings that take lives and injure victims continue across outer East Portland – but police do find and capture a suspect with a very deadly looking gun …
Again this week, Portland Police officers are kept running, from one shooting call to another.
Story and photos by David F. Ashton
Death and injury still resound this week – a man is shot and dies in the Mill Park neighborhood, and another is wounded just west of Lents – in the Mt. Scott-Arleta neighborhood.
The good news is that members of the Portland Police Bureau (PPB), with an assist from Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office Transit Division officers, successfully took into custody a man with a nasty looking gun in his car – whom they found barricaded in a Parkrose Heights home, while doing a minimum of damage to the house.
February 4
Man dies in Mill Park shooting
After a deadly shooting outside this 24-hour restaurant, police move in to secure the area.
This week’s homicide by gunshot began early on Saturday, February 4, when PPB East Precinct officers were dispatched at 2:06 a.m. to a report of “someone shot” in a parking lot at the Tik Tok Restaurant & Bar along SE Division Street at 112th Avenue.
Arriving officers found a man dead at the scene. The shooter had left the area and could not immediately be found, and no arrests were made. The PPB’s Homicide Division detectives took over the investigation.
Witnesses told reporters that the deceased had been walking from Tic Tok’s bar across the parking lot to their deli when he was shot.
This family photo is of Portland’s sixth homicide, dead in a 2:06 a.m. outer East Portland shooting: 20-year-old Tyz’Juan James.
On February 7, officials identified the shooting victim as 20-year-old Tyz’Juan James. The Medical Examiner confirmed the manner and cause of death to be homicide by gunshot.
Family members told reporters that they understood that a person had taken responsibility for the shooting and had given a statement to the PPB, but wasn’t arrested. PPB Public Information Officer Lt. Nathan Sheppard declined additional information to reporters about this – the city’s sixth homicide of the year.
If you have information about this case, please contact Detective Mike Schmerber Michael.Schmerber@police.portlandoregon.gov 503-823-0991 or Detective Erik Kammerer Erik.Kammerer@police.portlandoregon.gov 503-823-0762 – and refer to Case No. 23-32058.
February 6
Montavilla traffic stop leads to standoff in Parkrose Heights
Streets in the Parkrose Heights and Russell neighborhoods are closed off by officers after a man flees from a traffic stop in Montavilla.
At first, it seemed curious that a man – stopped for a traffic violation during the early evening hours of February 6, in a parking lot on SE Stark Street and 92nd Avenue – would then make a desperate attempt to escape PPB officers in Montavilla – and then would end up hidden in a garage attic of a Parkrose Heights home that was not his.
But, when it was all over, it became clear: The suspect had an arsenal of guns and bullets in his car! But first, Here’s how this incident unfolded …
After identifying residence thought to be where the suspect had holed up, officers surround the house.
At 5:51 p.m. East Precinct officers in the Montavilla neighborhood spotted a beat-up car without license plates, and tried to make a traffic stop.
Instead, the driver hit the gas and sped off – not realizing he was still being tracked from above by the PPB’s Air Support Unit airplane. The suspect headed north on SE 90th Avenue, and officers were guided by the plane to where they could spike the car’s tires –near the Glisan Street onramp to northbound Interstate 205.
Watch as this standoff unfolds:
Still driving, but now on shredded tires, the suspect went sped up I-205, and careened east on I-84, took the NE 122nd Avenue exit, where his 3.6 mile driving odyssey ended.
He jumped out of the car and ran, near NE 122nd Avenue and Siskiyou Street.
Officers and Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office deputies enter and search the house.
“The suspect then made entry into a home, where he barricaded himself inside; the residents of the home have been evacuated, and are not injured,” a PPB official disclosed to us at the scene.
Officers surrounded the house in the 3000 block of the NE 122nd Avenue Frontage Road.
It wasn’t long until officers were inside the residence – looking through it, room-to-room. However, outside, officers’ focus was on the attached garage.
The PPB’s Special Emergency Reaction Team arrives, and begins to set up for a “suspect extraction” from the house.
At 7:56 p.m., the PPB’s Special Emergency Reaction Team (SERT) and negotiators from the Crisis Negotiation Team (CNT) pulled up in front of the house.
CNT negotiators could be heard loud-haling the suspect, “This is the Portland Police; we know you are in there. We are not leaving. Come out, or we will come in to arrest you.”
About 8:20 p.m. officers managed to raise the garage door. PPB K-9 dogs barked inside the garage at the suspect, who was inside an attic space above the ceiling of garage.
Here’s why law enforcement officers became very concerned: Inside the car the suspect was driving, officers found a vest with armor plating, a disassembled assault rifle, rifle rounds, a loaded drum style magazine, another person’s work identification and driver’s license, and $2,985 in cash. This handgun (right) was also recovered during his arrest.
Before 9:00 p.m., the suspect surrendered and was arrested.
32-year-old Levi Jon Lapage was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center (MCDC) that evening at 10:37 p.m. on 12 Felony and two Misdemeanor charges.
Lapage was charged with Attempting to Elude by Vehicle, Reckless Driving, Attempting to Elude on Foot, Burglary in the First Degree, and also two counts of Identity Theft. In addition, Lapage had a valid Felony warrant from the Oregon State Parole Board for Identity Theft. Additional charges may be added as the investigation continues.
the suspect has been taken into custody, officers make sure the house is safe for the residents to return.
Bail was set for Lapage at $50,000 for the Burglary in the First Degree; and as it stands, he is currently in the Inverness jail in lieu of bail.
If you have information about this incident who have not yet spoken with police, call the non-emergency number at (503)823-3333 or email crimetips@police.portlandoregon.gov and Case No. 23-34540.
February 7
Victim shot in Mt. Scott-Arleta
Just west of SE 82nd Avenue of Roses, and the Lents neighborhood, officers block of SE Knight Street after a shooting.
Across the street from the Lents neighborhood, PPB East Precinct officers were dispatched on February 7 at 9:46 p.m. to SE Knight Street, just west of SE 82nd Avenue of Roses, on a “Shooting-with Weapon” call.
At the same time, an ambulance and paramedics were also sent to the area – but were quickly dismissed by officers at the scene.
There’s a lot of “shooting evidence” for officers to find and mark at this incident.
Investigators check out the bullet holes in the windshield and side windows of a park car.
“It is possible someone was hit, as this was reported through dispatch by a witness; however, officers were unable to find a victim,” PPB Public Information Officer Lt. Nathan Sheppard told East Portland News.
“But, the officers who responded did find evidence of gunfire,” Lt. Sheppard continued.
See Portland Police investigators identify, mark, and document “evidence of shooting” in this incident:
Along the street, near the parking lot driveway of a business building housing WelPland Insurance, and the Tan Sang Tropical Fruit market, officers set out as many as 11 evidence markers at spent bullet shell casings.
Evidence tags also marked bullet holes on the windshield and windows of vehicles parked along the north side of the street.
Members of the PPB’s Enhanced Community Safety Team continue their investigation in a side yard, near the shooting location.
Members of the PPB’s Enhanced Community Safety Team came to investigate, and remained there until past midnight, canvassing the area looking for evidence. No one has yet been arrested in connection with this shooting.
If you have information about this incident, who have not yet spoken with police, call the non-emergency number at (503) 823-3333 or email crimetips@police.portlandoregon.gov about Case No. 23-35622.
Two additional injury shootings
In Parkrose, and then again in Lents, officer investigate shootings.
In addition to the Mill Park shooting homicide and the Mt. Scott-Arleta injury shooting, there were a total of eight more “Shooting-with Weapon” calls citywide that resulted in injury.
Two of them were in outer East Portland:
- February 2 at 10:29 p.m. | Parkrose | NE Skidmore Street near 109th Avenue | Case No. 23-31011
- February 7 at 2:43 a.m. | Lents | 8300 Block of SE Bush Street | Case No. 23-34830
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
It matters not, be it in the cold, rain, or dead of night, our Portland Police officers are on the job, doing their best to restore safety in our community. Hopefully, some of Mayor Ted Wheeler’s million-dollar programs will begin to help reduce shootings in our neighborhoods.
Even still, our officers keep everlastingly at it. When you see one of our cops, give them a friendly wave, and say “thank you”, for the critical public safety work that they continue doing.
© 2023 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News™
Comments are closed.
