In the early morning hours of November 10, 2004, a violent encounter left 35-year-old Robert Valentino Cespedes, a white male, clinging to life on a Southeast Portland street. Officers responded to reports of an assault in progress at 5:18 a.m. at 3707 SE 33rd Avenue. Upon their arrival, they discovered Cespedes on the ground with a gunshot wound to his head.
He was alive and was rushed to a local hospital for emergency medical treatment.
For three years, Cespedes survived the initial, devastating injury. However, the consequences of the shooting lingered, and on November 15, 2007, he succumbed to seizures that were a direct result of the gunshot wound he had sustained. His death was ultimately ruled a homicide, leaving family and investigators to seek answers in a case that had grown cold.
The investigation into the shooting has yet to yield any arrests, and the case remains an unsolved felony. Shortly after the incident, witnesses reported seeing two SUVs leaving the scene. One of the vehicles was described as a dark blue Dodge, seen heading south on Southeast 33rd Avenue. Despite this lead, no suspects have been publicly identified or taken into custody in connection with the murder of Robert Cespedes. The case is still open, with law enforcement and Crime Stoppers of Oregon continuing to solicit information from the public in the hope of bringing a resolution to this long-unanswered crime.
