More stories from March's issue of THE BEE! East Precinct officers responded to the armed robbery at the Woodstock bank, but it will be the FBI which will track down the culprit for prosecution on this federal crime. (Photo by David F. Ashton) Woodstock KeyBank branch robbed at gunpoint By DAVID F. ASHTON For THE BEE Some customers arriving at the Woodstock KeyBank branch on Tuesday afternoon, February 18, looked a little bewildered to find its parking lot almost empty, its doors locked, and a “Temporarily Closed” sign posted. The building was in lockdown. East Precinct officers had been dispatched at 2:43 p.m. after a report of a bank robbery there. While an officer gathered information inside the bank, two others were in patrol cars, snaking through the streets of the Woodstock neighborhood, north of S.E. Woodstock Boulevard – the likely direction of travel of the suspect or suspects. “This incident was a robbery at gunpoint,” confirmed PPB Public Information Manager Mike Benner to THE BEE later that afternoon. “The suspect fled before officers arrived, and the individual has not yet been located. Fortunately, no bank employees were physically harmed.” Bank robberies are a federal crime, since the funds in banks area covered by the FDIC, an agency of the federal government. Robbing a bank hardly ever pays off for the robber in the long run – they’re usually tracked down and convicted to a term in federal prison. Although they work jointly with local law enforcement, bank robberies are investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; its Portland office has not responded to our inquiry. If you have information about this robbery, and have not yet spoken with police, email it to – crimetips@police.portlandoregon.gov; and refer to Case No. 25-43171. Here’s the new design showing how the rebuilt Portland Mercado on S.E. Foster Road will look once the reconstruction is completed – hopefully, by sometime this fall. (Courtesy of Hacienda CDC) Rebuild design of Foster Road’s ‘Portland Mercado’ revealed By HANNAH SIEBOLD CMG Media It was the first day of Ernesto Fonseca’s month-long sabbatical: January 3, 2024. Or, it was supposed to be. His work phone was buzzing incessantly that early morning, which it only did for repeat calls trying to come through. At around 5:30 a.m., before the sun even had a chance to rise, Portland Fire & Rescue was on the hunt for the owner of the Portland Mercado, which was engulfed in flames. Fonseca told the woman on the phone, “Just give me 30 minutes. I’ll be there.” One year later, Fonseca, CEO of Hacienda Community Development Corp., which oversees the space, said it all still feels surreal to him. “Whenever I am stressed out, I don’t seemed to be phased by anything, and I just go through the emotions. It wasn’t until later that it hit me,” Fonseca said of the devastating fire. But, before reaching the two-year anniversary of the fire, Fonseca plans to reopen the Portland Mercado. “I think my reflection on tragedy always goes to the same: Never let a good crisis go to waste,” he said. “I do believe strongly that every time we have faced adversity, if it’s done right, we have always come out ahead.” Fonseca remarked that the Portland Mercado wasn’t created to be a money-maker. It was always meant to create a healthy, self-sustaining cluster of small businesses. He likes that most people didn’t know the Portland Mercado belonged to Hacienda CDC. Fonseca said that the Portland Mercado had its own life and identity, separate from Hacienda CDC. “That’s when you really realize that that asset is owned by the community,” Fonseca reflected. “When everybody loses that sense of who the real owner is – that’s when that particular place, song, or piece of art, starts to become part of the community as a whole.” And that’s the goal of the bigger, brighter, revitalized Portland Mercado. Fonseca commented that he couldn’t care less about being recognized; his goal is to open the Portland Mercado again for what it brings to the city: A place of gathering, joy, memories, and vibrant community. As for the publicized new design for the Foster Road Mercado:  “We let it go. We washed our hands: Like, you’re own your own, dude,” Fonseca said of his response to the designers; so the resulting design has “a life of its own”. The rendering of the two-story space flaunts a loud pop of pink and a hint of blue, and features a calming inside seating area made of wood. The first floor will continue to have at least a bakery, an additional bar – and the commissary kitchen is coming back, too. They are even remodeling the formerly illegal canopy in the front. What is the timeline? It’s a guestimate. Fonseca said he definitely thinks the project will be completed by the end of the year, and hopes to have the grand opening this coming September or October. The goal is to begin construction no later than June; the project is anticipated to take about six months. He said permits from the city of Portland were expected to be done by the end of February, and the planning stages for construction are expected to start no later than the first week of May. As for the past year – after the Portland Mercado was scorched, a multitude of small business owners were dismantled. Some found refuge in spots across Portland, claiming a new home, although Fonseca said everyone is more than welcome back once it reopens. Fonseca revealed that there was a huge uplift to sustain their losses. Some $250,000 was fundraised to be split among the business owners to give them a “soft landing”. And since the fire, rents have not been collected for the entire year from anyone, including those still vending there. It’s been “go mode”, working through five months of negotiations with insurance companies before assessing the actual damages, then going head-first into the design stages of the future Portland Mercado. Fonseca is currently working on the Portland Mercado Capital Campaign to actively fundraise over the next several months. About $3 million dollars is needed to complete the project. Things can change – permit costs, building costs, unforeseeable bumps in the road – so they have to be prepared. So far, about $2 million has been raised, including that $250,000 distributed to the small business owners; so about another $1 to 1.5 million is needed, plus contingency costs. But anxieties about the project are still high, as they work through the details. “I’m excited to have this project completed again and to see it being rebirthed,” Fonseca said. “I’m excited to stop worrying and talking about, ‘When are we doing this’!” And, for those wondering, Fonseca’s sabbatical never did happen. Here’s a look at the distinctive hat and part of the face of a burglar who broke in on February 11th, looking for Pokémon merchandise to steal. See more in the video at the end of this article – maybe you can help police catch this thief. (Courtesy of Red Castle Games) ‘Red Castle Games’ burglarized twice more, in just two days By DAVID F. ASHTON For THE BEE Early on Tuesday morning, February 11, and again on Thursday morning, February 13, the Red Castle Games business in the Mt. Scott-Arleta neighborhood was again burglarized. Founder and owner Matthew B. Mičetić hardened security at the store after being pummeled by burglaries on June 7 and August 6 – twice on that night! – in 2023. Then, during the most recent Holiday Season, a break-in burglar entered the store early on December 7th. Then, early Tuesday morning, February 11, and again on Thursday morning, February 13, thieves again broke into the store. “Of the ten burglaries we’ve experienced, three have been through the back door, two of them being just in the last week,” a clearly frustrated Mičetić quietly told THE BEE not long after the latest crimes. “Other criminals have broken in through the front door, the café door, and seven times through broken windows.” Stolen: Easy-to-sell merchandise “A lot of what the burglars have stolen – game card sets – is relatively easy to sell because it’s untraceable, relatively small, and very easy to sell online because there is a robust market for it,” explained Mičetić. On February 11, before 6 a.m., the thief went for Pokémon merchandise. “He grabbed whatever he saw with ‘Pokémon’ on it – some of it was relatively valuable; but some of it was akin to Pokémon toilet paper! The total retail loss was about $5,000,” Mičetić sighed. “But on February 13, the criminals who broke in about 5:30 a.m. had a clear plan: They took all the high-dollar items – ‘Magic: The Gathering’ collector sets. So that loss is between $45,000 and $55,000 – a huge magnitude of difference!” Mičetić said that police do have his security system video recordings, and have assigned incident numbers to the latest crimes. “It’s really hard on us, because we’re more than a retail store. Over the past 15 years we’ve made this a real ‘community space’,” reflected Mičetić. “In addition to being a ‘second home’ for Portland’s gaming community, we have a lot of people come into visit our café – perhaps having a meeting of some kind, and enjoying being in a well-lit, clean, friendly, safe place.” While the business is insured, he’s decided to absorb the loss from the first break-in for fear of having his coverage dropped. But, he’ll have to file a claim for the second burglary because of the significant size of the loss. To help raise money to further harden the security at his store, Mičetić has started a GoFundMe account; if you want to assist, here’s a link to that fundraiser – https://tinyurl.com/mtecsjsf Or, you can support this local business just by stopping in at Red Castle Games, 7160 S.E. Foster Road. And, if you have information that might help bring any of these criminals to justice, email it to – crimetips@police.portlandoregon.gov – and add that your information concerns Cases No. 25-36186 and/or 25-37901. Alternatively, you can report them to http://www.crimestoppersoforegon.com – they offer cash rewards of up to $2,500 for information, reported to Crime Stoppers, which leads to an arrest in any unsolved felony crime, and tipsters can remain anonymous. Now, if you’d like to try your hand at identifying at least one of the thieves that’s been stealing from this badly victimized merchant on S.E. Foster Road, here’s some actual video surveillance of a burglary from the store. If you come up with any ideas, use the contacts in the paragraph above to share them with the police.  Here’s some surveillance video – https://youtu.be/TRv4QzZebqc S.E. Chavez Boulevard was closed down near Boise Street while Portland Police investigated a pedestrian accident in which an elderly woman was killed. (Courtesy of KGW-TV-8 News) Woman struck in Creston-Kenilworth street dies By DAVID F. ASHTON For THE BEE A 71-year-old woman, later identified as Tuyet Nguyen of Portland, was hit by a vehicle after dark on Sunday evening, January 26, on or along S.E. Chavez Boulevard (the former 39th Avenue) near Boise Street. Central Precinct officers, dispatched to the incident at 6:43 p.m., found seriously injured Nguyen in the street near the curb. Paramedics arrived and an ambulance rushed her to an area hospital, where she later died. In the darkness, it appeared as if Nguyen had been pushing a wheeled cart loaded with deposit-return bottles and cans she’d been collecting, when the collision took place. The driver of the involved vehicle remained at the scene and cooperated with the continuing investigation being conducted by the PPB's Major Crash Team. No citations were issued at that time. If you have information to share about this fatal accident, email – crimetips@police.portlandoregon.gov – to the attention of the Traffic Investigations Unit; and refer to Case No. 25-023076. 19-year-old Sellwood tech expert Alec LeClaire fixes a wide variety of electronics at the bench in his new business on S.E. Belmont Street. (Photo by David F. Ashton) Recent Cleveland High grad starts Southeast Portland business By DAVID F. ASHTON For THE BEE After graduating in Cleveland High School’s Class of 2023, Sellwood resident Alec LeClaire decided to take a “gap year” or two before heading off to study at a university. But instead of traveling the world in that time off, or continuing a part-time job at an electronics retail store, LeClaire decided to open his own business – offering computer and electronic device repair and configuration. And he did it some distance from home, on S.E. Belmont Street. After first working from home, LeClaire told THE BEE he wanted to open his own storefront, where people could bring their devices for service. A few weeks ago, that’s what he did, opening the business named “Tech Wagon” in the Sunnyside neighborhood. But why miles from home? “Well, yes, I still live in Sellwood; I went to Llewellyn Elementary school, then to Sellwood Middle School, before graduating from Cleveland High School – so I guess that makes me an Inner Southeast Portland ‘local’ in all respects!” the 19-year-old entrepreneur responded. “I was looking for a retail space that fit my needs – both in terms of the right amount of floor space, and at a price that I could afford,” he explained. “I wanted to be within five miles of my house, and on the east side of the Willamette River – so this seemed like a good spot.” About his business “I work on a wide variety of things – of course, the main thing is computers,” LeClaire said. “But I’ll fix any number of electronic devices. For example, I fixed a set of headphones the other day. “One thing that we’re not servicing at the moment are broken Apple devices,” cautioned LeClaire. “We’re limited in the specialized tools we need to do those repairs; but hopefully, we’ll be able to invest in them in the future.” In addition to growing his business, he’s also taking mathematics courses at Portland Community College, and expects to graduate from that program. “I want to have a business that offers both the best price and the best service in the area,” remarked LeClaire. “I think it’ll be really fulfilling for me if I make a go of this business: I think I will be able to keep doing this and be able to expand some of the services we can offer here.” So, if it’s electronic and it’s broken, keep Alec LeClaire in mind! The business is “Tech Wagon”, and the address is 3525 S.E. Belmont Street; the phone number is 971/277-3805. Learn more online – http://www.techwagon.net Neighbors gathered to inspect the Infiniti FX35 Crossover Coupe and Honda Accord that nearly ended up in their front yard. One, and possibly both, were stolen, and the drivers both absconded before the police arrived at this “double hit and run”. (Photo by David F. Ashton) Stolen car’s driver totals it in Brentwood-Darlington By DAVID F. ASHTON For THE BEE With slick roads as the snow fell, there were numerous fender-bender collisions along our neighborhood streets on Thursday, February 13th. At most of them, drivers exchanged information, and wreckers towed away the smashed vehicles. But, on that Thursday afternoon, after the snow stopped falling, there was a two-car smashup on S.E. 52nd Avenue near Cooper Street that drew police attention. Airbags had deployed in both an Infiniti FX35 Crossover Coupe, and in the Honda Accord that came to rest on the western curb of the street. The crash happened exactly at a new pedestrian island recently installed there, and knocked down the sign on it – suggesting that reckless driving had something to do with the accident. “Drivers of both vehicles ran from the scene,” PPB Public Information Manager Mike Benner told THE BEE later that day. “And, one of the vehicles came back as having been stolen out of Clark County, Washington.” It had not been established at THE BEE’s presstime for this issue, but it seemed rather likely that the other car had been stolen also. As you can imagine, the police are still looking into what happened here – and when they track down the drivers, BOTH will be facing charges. Hit and run, at the very least. Woodstock Library Administrator Holly Freewynn (left), and Katie O’Dell, Multnomah County’s Library Capital Bond Deputy Director, disclosed at the February WNA General Meeting that the local branch library will close on March 18th for a “refresh”. (Photo by Elizabeth Ussher Groff) Woodstock Library closing until mid-summer for a ‘refresh’ By ELIZABETH USSHER GROFF For THE BEE The Woodstock Branch Library will be closing for a few months. As a place for checking out all kinds of reading, listening, and viewing materials – as well as for using computers and picking up free copies of the Asian Reporter, THE BEE, Willamette Week, and state and federal tax forms – Woodstock’s library will be missed for a while! At the February meeting of the Woodstock Neighborhood Association (WNA), Woodstock Library Administrator Holly Freewynn, and Multnomah County Library Capital Bond Deputy Director Katie O’Dell, revealed that the library will be closing on Tuesday, March 18th, for what is being called a “refresh”. This process will include installation of new carpet, application of fresh paint, bringing in chairs that are more comfortable, adding a teen space near the windows, and renovating the children’s area. Other changes will include installing more accessible shelving – four shelves, instead of the five or six that can be too high or too low for some patrons – and more gardening and Lego books. These improvements will be provided by monies from a $387 million library bond passed by voters in November of 2020, which was earmarked for modernizing and expanding library spaces across the county. In addition, and of benefit to all the country library branches, is the installation of an “Intelligent Material Management System” (IMMS). Katie O’Dell reached out to Liz Sauer, the bond’s Communications Manager, for more information about IMMS. “The Intelligent Material Management System will allow us to recirculate library materials automatically on a daily basis, as items are checked in across library locations. At the end of each day, IMMS will assess check-ins and check-outs at each location – and know that, for example, the Russian Fiction shelves at Midland Library are a bit low. IMMS will then generate lists of items to fill that shelf from the Operations Center,” explained Sauer. “It’s one more way that the library is working to get materials to patrons much faster and more efficiently.” Since many voters use the Woodstock Library as a drop for voted ballots, Freewynn assured that boxes to drop off ballots will still be available there – although probably not in time for May elections; they certainly will be for the upcoming November elections.  “We have a very supportive community,” remarked Freewynn at the meeting. “We get 10,000 ballots returned at the library during election time.” The Woodstock Branch was built in 1960 and then demolished in 1999. An article in the March 2009 issue of THE BEE explained why the branch was demolished and rebuilt back then: “In 1999 a decision was made to demolish the entire thirty-nine year old building to make place for a new library at the same location. Issues of plumbing, mold in the atmosphere and other costly repairs made an entirely new library building more economically feasible.”  Fortunately, there are no issues of mold or mildew this time around. The Woodstock library anticipates re-opening in mid-late summer.  In the meantime, the newly-rebuilt and expanded Holgate Library at 7905 S.E. Holgate Boulevard – which has expanded from 7,000 sq. feet to 21,000 sq. feet, and now includes 15 rooms – is only 2.7 miles away.  The Hawthorne Library Holds Pickup, a 24/7 book return and free mobile, wireless printing service, are available at 3557 S.E. Hawthorne Boulevard. And the Sellwood-Westmoreland Branch Library, at 7860 S.E. 13th Avenue, is 3.4 miles away – although it, too, will be closing for its own four-month “refresh” later this year. Other locations, hours, and library events can be found online – http://www.multcolib.org East Precinct officers investigated the road-rage attack a year and a half ago, and after saving the victim’s life at the scene, they developed the case that led to the attacker “copping a plea”, and being sent to prison last month. (Photo by David F. Ashton) Creston-Kenilworth attacker sentenced in road-rage incident By DAVID F. ASHTON For THE BEE After one man attacked another – with a hatchet – in the 4900 block of S.E. Boise Street late at night on August 12, 2023, East Precinct officers – dispatched to the incident at 10:58 p.m. – found an adult male victim, later identified as Matt Griffin, with a severe laceration to his left leg. The officers likely saved the Griffin’s life by putting a tourniquet on his leg to control the bleeding before an ambulance arrived to whisk him away to a hospital with what was called a “serious, but non-life-threatening injury”. Officers learned that the victim had been followed by the suspect after a road rage incident, and that the men were strangers. It was Griffin who had the originally brandished the hatchet – but he was disarmed by the suspect, who physically assaulted him with it. PPB Major Crimes Unit detectives, who dogged the suspected assailant in a four-month investigation, identified and arrested 32-year-old Joseph Kyren Chastain on December 7, 2023, on charges of Assault in the Second Degree and Unlawful Use of a Weapon. Detectives seized the suspected weapon and entered it as evidence. On February 21 of this year, in the Multnomah County Courthouse, Judge Kelly Skye accepted Chastain’s plea deal – he pled guilty to Attempted Assault in the First Degree, and was sentenced to 42 months in prison. The open space shown here once held a deteriorating play structure. It’s the spot planned for the new play equipment, for which money is being raised from the community. (Photo by Elizabeth Ussher Groff) Woodstock’s Lewis Elementary raises funds for playground project By ELIZABETH USSHER GROFF For THE BEE When Birdie Howell, a student at Meriwether Lewis Elementary School in Woodstock, was almost five years old, she was fatally injured in a car accident in 2023. “She was a social butterfly – an incredible goofball – and was special to every single person who met her,” her uncle told THE BEE. “The entire Lewis school community mourned the loss of this bright light of a girl.” One teacher who was deeply affected by Birdie’s death was Lewis physical education teacher Scott DeMonte. As you would expect, he is very engaged with student fitness and well-being, and he remembers the spark in her eyes that made Birdie a joy to teach. As the months passed, DeMonte began mulling how the school might do something for the playground that Birdie loved, to honor her and keep her spirit alive and present. The school, at S.E. 45th and Evergreen Street, has a large paved outside area, with a metal and plastic play structure toward the east side, and a big ballfield in the back bordering 45th Avenue and Glenwood Street. One spot in the center of the playground has been a big empty space for almost two years. An aging log structure for climbing and sitting had been there, and was deemed unsafe a couple of years ago, so the logs were removed in the fall of 2023.  Working with a Portland Public Schools approved contractor, DeMonte shared his vision for a way to fill the empty playground space and memorialize Birdie. The one existing play structure still there is not adequate for the school population, so his plan is to install an additional play structure, and call it “Birdie’s Place”. “I just thought that, when the Howell Family was ready, honoring her memory with a playground that also served as a memorial would be the best way to honor Birdie,” DeMonte explained in an email to THE BEE. In the past, when public elementary school playground equipment became old and unsafe, school district funds were available for upgrades or new structures. However, these days, districts across the nation are suffering from budget cuts, leaving schools to find funds elsewhere – and that’s the situation for Portland Public Schools as well. To keep playgrounds safe and adequate, many Portland schools are turning to the PTA, grants, and donations to keep up their playgrounds. Lewis PTA Fundraising Chairperson Megan Murphy helped publicize a “Go Fund Me” campaign that DeMonte created; and, as of mid-February, $10,000 had been raised. That’s not enough, so additional funds are being pursued through grants and donations. Murphy said in the email to THE BEE: “Our parents Jamie and Jesse Martinez have started reaching out [for grants] to big local companies like Nike and Columbia Sportswear. “All improvements, including a sustainable safe and waterproof playground flooring, will be constructed by approved contractors and vendors – which is a PPS requirement.” If you’d like to contribute to this memorial project at Lewis School, go online – https://www.gofundme.com/f/Birdiesplace   Here’s a wide-angle look at the scene, from where the smashed car wound up on the left, to the pole it smashed into and broke off at right. (Photo by David F. Ashton) Driver limps away from car, smashed thru pole on SE Flavel By DAVID F. ASHTON For THE BEE A Sunday afternoon single-car smashup on February 2 in the Brentwood-Darlington neighborhood took out a utility pole on S.E. Flavel Street near 55th Avenue. At 1:42 p.m. East Precinct officers and the Woodstock’s Fire Station 25 Engine Company were dispatched to the potential injury accident. Although THE BEE arrived within minutes of the incident, the fire crew had come and gone, and no ambulance was present. Officers were examining the smashed Mitsubishi Lancer ES – and a wooden utility pole, on the north side of the street, hanging by its overhead wires – with a two-foot section missing at the bottom. “Neighbors told us that just after the crash, a man kicked the car door open, and tried to run away – but instead just limped slowly toward the west, and disappeared around the corner,” an officer told THE BEE. In the process of inventorying what was in the smashed car, an officer placed some of the unusual items in the otherwise junk-filled vehicle on the roof of the car. Another officer remarked, “Based on what we found in the car, the driver had reason to leave the scene.” Later that afternoon, Portland General Electric had a crew at the scene replacing the smashed pole. While when THE BEE asked about it, the day after the incident, PPB Public Information Manager Mike Benner didn’t say whether or not the vehicle had been stolen. But he did respond, “The driver ran off and was not located. When the officers inventoried the vehicle and found and seized an air BB gun, a hunting knife, and a long rifle.” No arrests have yet been made, but the investigation is active. If you have information about this crash, email – crimetips@police.portlandoregon.gov – and mention that it’s about Case No. 25-29266. After shots were fired, apparently from a passing car, injuring two dogs at Brentwood Park – which is adjacent to Lane Middle School – Portland Police responded to investigate. The dogs were taken to a vet’s office, and are expected to recover. (Courtesy of KPTV Fox News 12) Drive-by shots injure dogs in Brentwood Park By DAVID F. ASHTON For THE BEE Brentwood Park – which abuts Lane Middle School on two sides – is a popular “dog park” enjoyed by many Brentwood-Darlington neighbors. Even though Sunday night, January 19, was chilly, there were many people with furry companions walking in and around the park in the late evening. Then shots erupted, reportedly from inside a vehicle on S.E. 60th Avenue near Ogden Street. At 10:47 p.m., PPB East Precinct officers were dispatched to investigate a shooting near the park’s “off leash dog area”. Arriving officers found distressed neighbors and dog owners pointing to two dogs that had been hurt in the shooting. Apparently one of the dogs had actually been shot; the other was wounded by shrapnel from the shooting; and both were taken to an animal hospital, and are expected to recover from their injuries. The owner of the dogs wasn’t hurt. After the PPB’s Mobile Command Unit set up in the street, more officers arrived and began combing the street and park, looking for evidence. One significant find made by officers was several bullet holes in a nearby vehicle. Neighbors later told reporters hearing “numerous” gunshots; some recalling hearing as many as ten of them. It is currently considered a random criminal act, and there has been no repeat of it in or near that park. As this issue of THE BEE goes to press, no arrests have been made, but this incident is still under active investigation. If you have information about the shooting, contact: crimetips@police.portlandoregon.gov – and refer to Case No. 25-16916 in your report. Comments? News tips? Click here to e-mail us! 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