Southeast Portland Welfare Check Turns Into Armed Standoff and Murder Investigation

PORTLAND, Ore. — What started as a routine welfare check in Southeast Portland on Sunday night spiraled into an armed standoff that ended with a homicide investigation.

Caller Reports a Dead Woman In the Home

Around 6:30 p.m. on August 10, officers from the Portland Police Bureau’s East Precinct were dispatched to a home in the 2000 block of Southeast 170th Avenue. A man had phoned 911, claiming there was a dead woman inside.

When officers arrived, they discovered that a man had barricaded himself inside the property. Believing he was armed and possibly dangerous, police tried to convince him to come out.

Their concern grew that someone inside the home could be injured and called in the Special Emergency Reaction Team (SERT) along with crisis negotiators.

Repeated orders for the suspect to surrender were ignored. Eventually, SERT officers forced their way through the front door. Inside, they found a woman who was pronounced dead at the scene.

The suspect, however, stayed holed up for more than two hours before finally walking out shortly before 9 p.m. He was taken into custody without further incident.

A firearm was recovered at the scene, and the man was taken to a local hospital for evaluation before he was booked into jail. Police later identified him as 20-year-old Leonel Macias of Portland who is booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on charges of second-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon.

The Portland Police Bureau’s Homicide Unit is handling the case. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Samantha Cater at [email protected] or Detective Brent Christensen at [email protected], referencing case number 25-216281.