Cops: Teens break into rental, throw party
Published 12:00 am Friday, November 8, 2019
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A group of young people broke into a furnished rental in Northeast Portland on Halloween night and threw a wild house party that attracted 150 guests who trashed the apartment and scattered when cops arrived at 3:30 a.m., police, neighbors and one of the property’s owners said.
Then in a display of youthful bravado, according to authorities and social media posts, the suspected organizers returned hours later and tried to throw a second one.
Police have arrested one person in connection with the brazen celebration and are searching for leads on others.
While raves are nothing new, this one seems to be a rare case involving a suspected break-in and blowout in one of the city’s thousands of furnished rentals.
“I cannot think of another instance where this has happened,” said Lt. Tina Jones, a Portland police spokeswoman.
Neighbors said the boozy brouhaha kicked off about 9:30 p.m. on the holiday in the city’s Hollywood District as cars began rolling up along a quiet stretch of Northeast 45th Avenue off Sandy Boulevard.
Soon, according to neighbors, more than 150 mostly teenagers — many of them dressed in costume — were spilling in and out of the three-bedroom apartment, which is part of a larger mixed-use building.
“It was an absolute rager,” said Brett Roberts, a longtime resident of the block. “They all looked like they were straight out of high school.”
For six hours, the party thrummed unabated. Drinks flowed and bodies moved to a DJ’s dance music, video taken inside the rental shows.
Seven cop cruisers, an ambulance and a fire truck arrived, dispatch records show. People started running out the back of the residence when officers stepped inside, Jones said.
Darren Stowell, one of the property’s owners, said the apartment is in transition between being a short-term and long-term rental.
“There were no tenants — short or long term — associated with this incident,” Stowell said.
Records show Isaiah Maza, 18, was booked into the Multnomah County jail on suspicion of first-degree trespassing.