Chester “Chaz” Eugene Newborn, 50, a Black male, was shot and killed on the night of June 19, 2016, in Portland’s Old Town–Chinatown at Northwest 4th Avenue and Northwest Davis Street. Homicide detectives said the shooting appeared connected to a drug transaction, and a 52-year-old woman nearby was struck in the leg and survived. Reports placed the gunfire around 10:15 p.m., drawing officers to a block lined with tents and nightlife as summer heat lingered over the bricks and neon.
Within minutes, officers detained 48-year-old Thomas Lincoln Dorris near a Chevron station on West Burnside Street. Witnesses described a man running into the roadway with a firearm moments after multiple shots; when police entered the gas station, they found Dorris and recovered a black Sig Sauer P250 9mm pistol set on the counter. He was arrested and booked on a murder charge as investigators and the medical examiner confirmed Newborn had died of a gunshot wound.
In court filings and later coverage, Dorris claimed he acted in self-defense after an argument that he said began when Newborn offered to sell him drugs and then reached toward what Dorris believed was a pipe; he said he fired three times, a burst that also wounded the bystander. Prosecutors noted the absence of witnesses supporting his account. More than two years later, on October 12, 2018, Dorris pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter, third-degree assault, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. On November 1, 2018, a judge sentenced him to 17 years in prison followed by three years of post-prison supervision, while Newborn’s family spoke about the hole left in their lives.
