Portland woman accused of killing would-be pimp

[sam]

This incident happened a few blocks from my house and I just happened to be riding my bike nearby when swarms of cops descended. I presumed at the time it was prostitution-related because Montavilla neighborhood has an awful prostitution problem in a city famous for having more johns per capita than other cities. http://montavillainaction.blogspot.com/

Woman charged in Portland prostitution-linked killing
82nd Avenue neighbors ask police for help cleaning up the area
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
MAXINE BERNSTEIN
The Oregonian Staff

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonia ... xml&coll=7

A young woman who was picked up on prostitution-related charges last Wednesday is now behind bars, accused of fatally stabbing a man she said was trying to get her to work for him as a streetwalker on Southeast 82nd Avenue.

Police say Donyel Helen Hormats, 19, stabbed Christopher Darrell Richardson, 21, once in the chest shortly after 8 p.m. Friday on Southeast 82nd Avenue near Morrison Street. He died later in the evening at a hospital.

Hormats told authorities she was carrying a knife for protection because she had been assaulted the previous night. She now faces one count of murder, and was arraigned in Multnomah County Circuit Court on Monday. In Hormats' booking photo, her right eye is black and blue.

The prostitution-related homicide comes as Portland police are working to develop new strategies to respond to street-level prostitution, which has drawn increasing complaints from residents along both Northeast and Southeast 82nd Avenue. Many are disturbed that police can no longer cite offenders through the use of prostitution-free zones, which the city let expire in September 2007.

"My concern is if we allow this to continue, we're going to see more of this kind of violence, and a general decrease in livability," said Brian Wong, who lives at Southeast 83rd and Stark Street.

Friday night, Richardson flagged down Portland officers after he was stabbed. He was taken to OHSU Hospital, where he died. Hormats was at the scene when police arrived. Investigators suspect she may have acted out of self-defense, but a Multnomah County grand jury will decide whether to issue an indictment when it hears the case later in the week. Hormats is due back in court Aug. 26.

Investigators say Richardson either was trying to pimp Hormats, or give her trouble for competing with women he was pimping on the avenue.

Hormats had been arrested two nights earlier, at 5:50 p.m. Wednesday at Southeast 84th Avenue and Yamhill Street. She was accused of attempted prostitution and prostitution procurement.

Richardson, a Los Angeles native, had prior felony convictions. On June 20, Gresham police stopped him after he allegedly threatened another man with a gun near the MAX platform at Southeast 181st Avenue and Burnside. They seized a .357 revolver from him. Police reports say he had the gun tucked behind his back in his waistband. He was accused of being a felon in possession of a firearm and unlawful use of a firearm.

On July 30, he bailed himself out of jail and was on pretrial supervision. He had convictions for third-degree escape, third-degree robbery and second-degree theft.

East Precinct Cmdr. Mike Crebs, after meeting with the mayor and City Commissioner Randy Leonard earlier this month, is leading a committee to develop a strategy to clean up 82nd Avenue. They are trying an approach that combines enforcement targeting chronic offenders, with possibly increased penalties, and some type of social service program to help the women involved.

But first, Crebs said the group is working to analyze the problem, seeking to find out why the women are involved in prostitution, how old they are, and why the prostitutes, johns and pimps are drawn to Southeast 82nd Avenue. Police say most of the prostitutes are not drug-addicted, but have histories of abuse and are drawn by the money.