Portland Robberies, Crime First Days Of 2022

In Northeast Portland on Tuesday morning, armed robbery suspects were taken into custody after a chase and crash. Portland Police Bureau said “someone called 911 and said they were robbed at gunpoint.”

The suspects drove off after the robbery, but fortunately the victim got a positive recognition of the vehicle and described the car to police. Officers later found the car and tried to stop it, but the driver took off. According to police, the car eventually crashed near Lombard Street and Commercial Avenue.Officers took the suspects who were in the car into custody, police said. North Lombard was closed from Kerby to Williams while officers investigated, but it has since reopened.

Two people were slain in the Argay Terrace neighborhood on New Year’s Day in a shooting that wounded one other person. On Sunday, one person was shot to death around 9 a.m. on North Morgan Street.

There were other shootings this weekend that left people wounded. Sunday, officers responded to a shooting downtown and found a gentleman shot in the chest,” PPB Lt. Nathan Sheppard reported. “Fortunately, the officer was able to run to his car, get his first aid kit, and use specialized patches to save the man’s life.”

Around 8:35 a.m. on January 6th, Vancouver police responded to a report of a robbery on Columbia House Boulevard. A suspect reportedly showed the victim a handgun and then demanded the victim hand over their purse. Once the suspect had the purse, police said he fled. The suspect is described as a 30- to 40-year-old man wearing a yellow jacket and a red mask. He was allegedly driving a red sports utility vehicle, that may have been a Honda Pilot with no license plates. Officers said the victim was not hurt.

Police have identified Portland resident Roman Ivan Kokhanevych, 24, as the man shot and killed by police in Gresham after a bank robbery and car chase Tuesday afternoon. Police shot and killed Kokhanevych on Tuesday after he led a chase allegedly shot at officers during the pursuit. Police said he was believed to be linked to additional recent bank robberies in the Portland metro area. 

In December 2020, Mayor Ted Wheeler, Police Chief Chuck Lovell and Office of Violence Prevention Director Nike Greene announced first steps in a new plan to decrease shootings and homicides, including assigning more detectives to investigations, as well as more outreach and hospital-based trauma responders. Local government said that the city and the Portland Police Bureau are focusing resources on these areas and forging stronger community partnerships to improve the current climate, with an emphasis on providing necessary resources for future improvements as well.