Beka Dekebo woke his girlfriend in her Hazelwood apartment, told her she needed to repent, then stabbed her repeatedly with a kitchen knife, according to statements the victim gave police.
Dekebo, 29, is now in jail and faces attempted murder and unlawful use of a weapon charges. His arrest Wednesday, after police stormed the apartment, culminated an hours-long standoff.
At 2:20 a.m. Wednesday, Portland police received a call about an assault at 12110 E. Burnside St., an apartment building on the corner of East Burnside and 122nd Avenue. When an officer arrived, someone flagged him down and took him to a nearby MAX stop where there was a woman with multiple stab wounds. People were trying to help the woman, with one man putting pressure on a wound on the woman’s chest, court records show.
The woman told police her boyfriend had woken her up and stabbed her, and she gave the officer his name and the apartment number. Dekebo had schizophrenia but didn’t take medication and he had previously tried to get her to “repent” and tried to stab her, she said.
The woman managed to walk to an ambulance that took her to OHSU Hospital. By then, more officers had arrived, and they went to the apartment building. When they got near the apartment an officer called out for Dekebo to come out with his hands up, records show.
“I’m going to come out shooting,” a voice called back from the apartment at around 2:53 a.m., according to court records.
Police retreated, put on ballistic helmets, then called out to Dekebo again. A man stuck his head out of the apartment door and asked why police were talking to him, according to court documents. Officers said they were investigating a crime and wanted to check on his well-being, but he refused to come out or show both hands.
When an officer asked if he had a gun, Dekebo said, “Yeah, come look at it,” according to court records.
After hours trying to negotiate with Dekebo, police sent the bureau’s Special Emergency Reaction Team into the apartment, and they arrested Dekebo. He was arraigned Thursday morning.
Dekebo has previously pleaded guilty to giving false information to an officer and, in 2012, was involved in a DUI crash and charged with felony assault and three misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence, reckless driving and criminal mischief. All those charges were dismissed, court records show.
— Fedor Zarkhin is a breaking news and enterprise reporter with a focus on crime. Reach him at 971-373-2905; fzarkhin@oregonian.
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