Pieces of puzzle lead to shooting suspect

By Mara Stine

The Gresham Outlook, Oct 20, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (1 Reader comment)

Carl Anthony Dedmon

Contributed photo

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Good detective work and a little luck helped lead Gresham police to a Portland man accused of firing five rounds at a man in Rockwood early Saturday, Oct. 17.

“From start to finish, the cops just did a great job,” said Gresham Police Chief Craig Junginger. “All the stars aligned.”

It started with a 1:25 a.m. report of a shooting near 7-Eleven at East Burnside Street and 188th Avenue. Patrol officers arrived, closed off the scene and interviewed witnesses, who reported seeing a man shoot another man before fleeing westbound on Burnside. The injured victim then managed to climb into a gray car and drive away, also westbound.

A man waiting in his car for a friend buying something in the store also provided a key suspect description, Junginer said.

While patrol officers recovered five shell casings and noted blood at the crime scene, Officer Jared McGowan and his canine partner, Nico, checked the surrounding area for the suspect.

They didn’t find him. But Nico tracked the suspect’s scent for two blocks. Under some fallen leaves, the dog found the suspect’s watch. And shoved under a mobile home on Northeast 186th Avenue, the dog found a paper bag containing a 9 mm pistol.

Meanwhile, the shooting victim – identified as Johnny Brown, 27, of Portland – turned up at Providence Portland Medical Center with bullet wounds to the chest. He was transferred to Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center for treatment.

Back at the mobile home, officers recovered the weapon and gave the potentially crucial piece of evidence to Gresham Police Criminalist Melissa Arne.

Working at the lab in the Gresham Police Department, Arne dusted the gun for fingerprints. One intact print emerged on the weapon’s magazine. Arne lifted the print, ran it through a database and hit pay dirt.

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