In the late hours of a summer evening in 2016, a dispute between a landlord and his tenant in Milwaukie, a suburb of Portland, Oregon, ended in the death of 53-year-old Ricky Pineda McKowen. On August 7, 2016, McKowen, a male ex-military member, was shot and killed by his landlord.
The landlord, who was arrested at the scene, claimed that the shooting was in self-defense. He told authorities that his tenant, McKowen, had threatened to kill him.
Following an investigation into the fatal incident, the landlord was cleared of wrongdoing in the shooting death of his tenant. The Clackamas County District Attorney's Office announced that no criminal charges would be filed against the landlord.
The decision was based on a thorough review of the evidence presented by the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office. Investigators concluded that the landlord acted in self-defense during the altercation with McKowen. This conclusion was reached after considering the landlord's account of the events, which included the alleged threats made against him by McKowen.
Following the investigation and the district attorney's decision, the landlord was released from custody. The case was closed without any criminal prosecution, leaving the events of that August night to be officially recognized as a case of self-defense.
