A 62-year-old man who was attacked at a convenience store in Portland’s Hazelwood neighborhood two weeks ago has died, and police have arrested a suspect, authorities said Thursday.
Medical examiners ruled Curtis E. Davies’ death a homicide by blunt force trauma.
The suspect, 35-year-old Aaron Reed-Jones, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of manslaughter and negligent homicide.
Police responded to reports of an assault around 8 p.m. on March 17 at the Max Mart Deli at 12128 E. Burnside St., according to a probable cause affidavit. They found Davies injured and getting help from paramedics when they arrived, and he was taken to a nearby hospital.
Video footage shows a man, later identified as Reed-Jones, entered the store to buy a box of cigarettes, the affidavit said. Davies approached the front counter and tapped the man on the shoulder. The man asked Davies not to touch him.
Davies, described in court records as deaf, tapped the suspect on the shoulder again and put his hand in the man’s face, the affidavit said. The suspect turned and punched him three times in the head, causing Davies to fall backward.
Davies had two brain surgeries to relieve swelling, the affidavit said, but he died from his injuries March 22.
Investigators, assisted by agents from the U.S. Marshals Service, arrested Reed-Jones this week and booked him into Multnomah County Jail, where he remained as of Thursday.
Police seized a handgun and a baggie of around 25 grams of methamphetamine during the arrest, according to the affidavit. Reed-Jones is also a suspect in a shooting on March 28, where several rounds were fired at a vehicle, the affidavit said.
Reed-Jones told police that he remembered “getting into it with an older male,” the document said. He told officers the man tapped him three to four times and gave him a thumbs up, and that he punched the man once in the chin. Reed-Jones said he was not injured from the man tapping on him.
Davies’ death brings the number of homicides in Portland so far this year to 18, compared with 25 at this time in 2022.
Anyone with information on the attack can contact Detective Mike Jones at Michael.Jones@police.portlandoregon.gov 503-823-0405 or Detective Jeff Sharp Jeff.Sharp@police.portlandoregon.gov 503-823-9773.
– Austin De Dios; adedios@oregonian.com; @austindedios; 503-319-9744
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