Portland man accused of murder insists victim died of overdose, not the 2 bullets he allegedly fired into his torso

On July 31, Portland resident Jacob Ryan Clement shot a man who later died. He is now arguing that the victim died of a drug overdose and that he can’t be held responsible for his death.

As reported by Oregon Live, the 45-year-old Clement was caught on camera firing shots from a rifle on the east side of his apartment complex in the 9200 block of Southeast Clinton Street. Video footage reportedly shows Clement wearing overalls, a black sweatshirt, and a hockey mask taking “careful aim” at a man (who has not been publicly named) from across a parking lot.

As per court records, Clement then allegedly fired a shot that dropped the man to the ground. He then reloaded, aimed again, and shot the prone man. A witness said Clement then fled the scene in a black Cadillac Escalade.

“Adamant that the guy was not dead because of him”

The injured man died from his injuries at the scene, with the medical examiner noting that the bullet pierced his aorta and flooded his chest cavity with blood. Consequently, this is being treated as a homicide.

Clement argues otherwise. As per the report, he called the property manager to explain what had happened, telling him that he was “adamant that the guy was not dead because of him but because he was overdosing”. He explained he was merely shooting a rifle to “deter the homeless”.

After cops viewed security footage of the shooting, Clement was found and arrested on August 1. He was then shown the video, and explained to the cops that this was all a big misunderstanding.

Clement said what appeared to be a rifle was merely an airsoft gun, and he was only peering down the scope at the fallen man to see why he was yelling so loudly. When asked where this airsoft rifle was, he explained that unfortunately he couldn’t show it to the investigators, as an unknown person had stolen it hours after the incident.

Oregon Live reports that Clement has previous convictions for owning a restricted weapon, resisting arrest, second-degree theft, manufacturing heroin, and possessing a forged instrument. He also has two pending cases relating to owning weapons and narcotics possession.

It remains to be seen whether Clement will stick to his story, though a broadly similar incident recently took place in North Carolina in which a disabled man shot a person he alleges was trying to break through his window. In that instance, the shooter was not charged with a crime.

There is no indication that Clement has posted bond, or been arraigned, and there is no update on when he is due next in court.