Police said they uncovered guns and drugs when the mother of a 17-year-old boy allowed investigators to search her apartment in New Columbia.
A resident of the
housing complex in North Portland overheard a mother arguing with her son over a gun he'd brought home.
The neighbor told property managers, who alerted a Portland police officer who works at the housing complex, and the mother allowed police to search her apartment.
The mother's cooperation resulted in the police discovery on Sunday of six guns inside the boy's guitar case. Officers also found methamphetamine, cocaine and jars of marijuana in the 17-year-old's bedroom and took him into custody without a problem.
Police and housing officials said the case illustrates the strong partnership between residents, New Columbia's management and police that has developed in recent years.
They praised the outcome as a dramatic example of community policing at New Columbia -- a place where residents once were reluctant to seek help from police or housing officials, and where police and housing managers rarely collaborated.
"It speaks to the trust and focus on community safety that's really starting to penetrate around our community," said Erik Fabian, community manager for New Columbia's Guardian Management company. "The dynamic is changing. "
The six firearms police found were a double barrel shotgun, a pistol grip shotgun, a 9mm Mac-10, and three .45 caliber semi-automatic handguns.
Four of the firearms had been reported stolen. One was taken in a burglary from 1999.
"We're not talking Daisy BB rifles," said Sgt. Cathe Kent, who supervises the Police Bureau's Gun Task Force.
Police are concerned about the presence of guns in the neighborhood following a spate of shootings in and around
between August and early November.
Police suspect some of the shootings involved teenage boys as young as 13 or 14 with gang ties, Kent said. Investigators don't know if the firearms seized Sunday were involved in any of the shootings but will try to trace if they were involved in any recent crimes.
"Teens and guns...that's probably about the worst combination, considering they have little impulse control," said Capt. Ron Alexander, who supervises the police bureau's Tactical Operations Division.
Portland police will continue to investigate how the 17-year-old in this case obtained the firearms. Before the weapons were uncovered, he denied to police that he had a real gun, telling officers that the one his mother had seen was a fake that he had given away, police said.
The teenager was taken into custody about 11:15 a.m. Sunday in the 9500 block of North Fiske Avenue.
He's accused of six counts of unlawful possession of a firearm; four counts of first-degree theft; distribution and possession of marijuana and methamphetamine; and possession of cocaine.
Police said they seized 58 grams of methamphetamine from the boy's bedroom as well as ammunition, holsters, cash and a "Friday the 13th"-style hockey mask.
Kent credited Officer Rachel Strobel and her contacts at New Columbia for easing the path for investigators.
"Rachel has a rapport with many of the residents, who she knows by name, and it was her work that led to the mother's willingness to let police into her home," Kent said.
Strobel is one of four police officers from the Portland Police Bureau's North Precinct who have been dedicated to public safety at the housing complex. The officers meet weekly with the property management and residents, and have a contact office at New Columbia on North Fessenden.
Fabian said Strobel has been working at New Columbia the longest of the four officers assigned there and is particularly strong at getting to know residents and being a public presence at the housing complex.
"In this case," Fabian said, "everything worked seamlessly."
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