Bekah Dekebo woke up his girlfriend in their Hazelwood apartment, told her she needed to repent and then stabbed her multiple times with a kitchen knife, the victim told police.
Dekebo, 29, is currently in jail, charged with attempted murder and unlawful use of a weapon. He was arrested Wednesday after police stormed the apartment, culminating in an hours-long standoff.
At 2:20 a.m. Wednesday, Portland police received a report of an assault at 12110 E. Burnside St., an apartment complex at the corner of East Burnside and 122nd Avenue. When officers arrived, someone alerted him and he was taken to a nearby MAX stop, where they found a woman with multiple stab wounds. People were trying to help the woman, and one man was applying pressure to the woman's chest wound, according to court records.
The woman, Bokayo Jatani, told police that her boyfriend woke her up and stabbed her, and she gave officers her name and apartment number. Dekebo suffered from schizophrenia but was not taking her medication, and she had previously tried to stab her in an attempt to make him “repent,” she said.
Jatani managed to walk to an ambulance and was taken to OHSU Hospital. By that time, more officers had arrived and they made their way to the apartment building. As they approached Dekebo and Jatani's apartment, an officer called for Dekebo to come out with his hands up, records show.
According to court records, at around 2:53 a.m., a voice came from the apartment saying, “I'm going to shoot.''
The police backed away, put on their bulletproof helmets, and called out to Dekebo again. According to court documents, the man stuck his head out the apartment door and asked why police were talking to him. Officers said they were investigating the crime and wanted to check on the man, but he refused to come out or show his hands.
When the officer asked if he had a gun, Dekebo replied, “Yes, come and see,” according to court records.
After hours of trying to negotiate with Dekebo, police sent the department's special emergency response team to the apartment and arrested Dekebo. He was arraigned Thursday morning.
Dekebo previously pleaded guilty to providing false information to a police officer and was involved in a drunk driving accident in 2012, resulting in felony assault and three misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence, reckless driving and criminal mischief. charged with a crime. All of those charges were dismissed, according to court records.
— Fedor Zarkhin is a breaking news and corporate reporter specializing in crime. Please contact us at 971-373-2905. fzarkhin@Oregonian.
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