Man arrested in ‘Sellwood Center Apartments’ stabbing

Published 12:00 am Friday, August 3, 2018

After a person was reported to have been stabbed at the Sellwood Center Apartments on July 3 at 2:12 p.m. — that’s the high-rise apartment building at S.E. Tenino at 17th owned by Home Forward (formerly the Housing Authority of Portland) — seven Central Precinct police cruisers arrived to surround the building.

Officers guided emergency paramedics to an adult male who had been assaulted by a person with a knife, and an ambulance took the victim by to an area hospital. “The man sustained what were believed to be serious but non-life-threatening injuries,” later reported Portland Police spokesman Sgt. Chris Burley.

The knife-wielding assailant had managed to slip out of the building; but, as the investigation unfolded, Milwaukie Police Department officers managed to locate and detain the suspect in the stabbing. Portland police officers went to Milwaukie to take custody of the suspect later that afternoon.

Arrested was 40-year-old Michael R. Hecht, who was lodged in the Multnomah County Detention Center (MCDC) at 6:13 p.m. that evening on charges of “Domestic Violence Assault in the First Degree”, “Burglary in the First Degree”, “Domestic Violence Unlawful Use of a Weapon”, and “Domestic Violence Attempted Murder”.

After his arraignment in Multnomah County Court, the judge ordered Hecht to be held for trial on all four charges. At this time, Hecht remains behind bars in lieu of $560,000 combined bail.