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Scene of the first homicide of the year, the fatal shooting of Isaiah D. Kent, 28, who was shot in the head while sitting in his car about 5:30 p.m. Feb. 25 at Northeast Sixth Avenue and Alberta Street. Two arrests were made. (Jim Ryan |Staff)

Twenty people died in homicides in Portland in 2016 - a drop from the previous two years.

Domestic violence accounted for four of the deaths.

Three of the victims were 2 years old or younger.

Three people died when others shot them in self-defense, police say.

One woman died in a murder-suicide.

Though gang violence remained high this year, only one homicide involved gang members or associates. It didn't stem from a gang rivalry but a personal dispute, police and witnesses said.

As of mid-December, police logged 155 gang-related shootings or assaults this year, down from 181 at the same time the year before. Gang violence calls in 2015 represented the highest annual number in Portland since police began tracking them in 1998.

"It's one of those things that can be really cyclical," said Cmdr. Dave Hendrie, who supervises the bureau's Detective Division.

Other killings involved drugs or alcohol and a dispute between homeless men.

One man died in an officer-involved shooting. Police killed Steven Liffel, 52, at a Southeast Portland home when he fired shots from an apartment and then emerged with a rifle.

Four of the 20 killings remain unsolved.

The 20 homicides compared to 34 in 2015, 26 in 2014 and 16 in 2013, which was the lowest number recorded in 42 years.

"We've got comparably a safe city," Hendrie said.

Portland homicides 2016:

1. Isaiah D. Kent, 28: Shot in the head while sitting in his car about 5:30 p.m. Feb. 25 at Northeast Sixth Avenue and Alberta Street. Arrested: Clifford Moffett, 35, and Terry Lee Spencer Jr., 25. Police say Spencer walked up and confronted another man outside the King Dishman Apartments about an insulting remark the man posted on Facebook. The man punched Spencer and ran. Moffett opened fire toward the apartments, and Kent was shot once in the forehead. Both suspects fled on foot. The two suspects are both well-known Crips gang members, while the victim was affiliated with the Bloods gang, according to prosecutors. Moffett and Spencer have pleaded not guilty to murder with a firearm, attempted aggravated murder with a firearm, two counts of unlawful use of a weapon and felon in possession of a firearm.

2. Gary Baechler, 48: Found dead from multiple gunshot wounds about 5 p.m. Feb. 28 at his home at 6901 S.E. 110th Ave. Unsolved.

3. Yaritza Valdez-Almaguer, 31: Stabbed May 20 at 6614 N.E. Glisan St. Arrested: Jorge Sosa-Soler, 51. He's accused of stabbing his live-in girlfriend at least twice before slicing his own throat in the apartment they shared. Both immigrated from Cuba and moved to Portland in March. They had been together for four years, according to court testimony. Two roommates returning to the apartment about 1 p.m. found Sosa-Soler covered in blood and Valdez-Almaguer lying on the kitchen floor dead behind him, police said. She died from a wound to her throat. He survived. Sosa-Soler has pleaded not guilty to murder and unlawful use of a weapon.

4. Shantina Turner, 29: Stabbed three times in the neck about midnight June 15 during a dispute at Club Skinn, a strip club at 4523 N.E. 60th Ave. Arrested: Rinita Lowe, 23. Turner was a customer sitting at the bar on a stool, talking to others beside her, when Lowe entered and sat about six to eight seats away. A short time later, witnesses heard the two arguing, saw Lowe punch Turner and then spotted a bloody knife. Lowe was arrested at a nearby 7-Eleven. Lowe said she worked at Tommys Too Club, where earlier in the night Turner had been kicked out for trying to start a fight with her. When she got off work, Lowe went to Club Skinn and confronted Turner, investigators said. Lowe has pleaded not guilty to murder and unlawful use of a weapon.

5. Mya Lanise Sly, 5 months: Killed June 16 at 9121 N. Fiske Ave. She was taken to the hospital. Police were called. An autopsy was done and the death was ruled a homicide. The medical examiner's office declined to release the cause of death while the case remains under investigation. "It's a complicated case, but it's a homicide,'' said Dr. Larry Lewman, deputy state medical examiner. Unsolved.

6. Chester Newborn, 50: Shot in the head on June 19 in 300 block of Northwest Fourth Avenue. Arrested: Thomas L. Dorris, 58. Dorris had given Newborn $40 in exchange for drugs, police said. Newborn told him he would get the drugs from someone else. But when he didn't, Dorris shot and killed Newport in front of multiple witnesses, Det. Michele Michaels said. Dorris was arrested about 10:25 p.m. at a nearby Chevron station with a 9mm handgun, police said. He was on supervision out of Lane County as a registered sex offender at the time of the shooting. He has pleaded not guilty to murder, second-degree assault, third-degree assault, felon in possession of a firearm, and unlawful use of a weapon.

7. David D. McCrary, 59: Shot in a stranger's home on June 26 at 4150 S.E. 118th Ave. A grand jury cleared Tara-Alexis Ford, 34, of criminal wrongdoing for fatally shooting McCrary when she discovered him in her 10-year-old daughter's bedroom about 1:45 a.m. Ford fired once at McCrary, a Gresham resident who police said might have been suffering from a mental illness when he broke into Ford's home.

8. Cory Lumber, 48: Shot in the face July 2 at 1538 S.E. 122nd Ave., Apt. 29. Arrested: Spencer Johnson, 37. He's accused of shooting his girlfriend at the Misty Firs Apartments. They'd been in a relationship for three months. Lumber had moved in with Johnson a month before her killing. At 6:55 a.m., Johnson called 911, claiming his girlfriend shot herself. Police found Lumber on a futon sofa in the living room. She died from a gunshot below her left eye. Police found a .40-caliber gun in the apartment. Johnson has pleaded not guilty to murder with a firearm constituting domestic violence. He was on bench probation at the time of the killing for an October 2015 domestic violence case involving a former girlfriend.

9. Anthony James Lazarides, 30: Shot July 14 after breaking into a home at 8328 S.E. 64th Ave. A grand jury found that homeowner Robert Chambers, 46, had acted in self-defense when he shot Lazarides in what police described as a home invasion robbery involving several people. No arrest.

10. Sou Chiew Saechao, 46: Stabbed in the leg and found dead Aug. 4 in the parking lot of St. Rita's Catholic Church at 10029 N. Prescott St. An employee at the neighboring gas station found his body. He bled to death. Unsolved.

11. Luccas D. McNeill, 28: Shot Aug. 7 near Northeast 81st Avenue and Tillamook Street while covering a co-worker's overnight Portland Securitas private security guard shift. Police responded to multiple reports of gunfire and found McNeill's body in the street by a car. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Unsolved.

12. Zackariah Daugherty, 2: Died of blunt force head injury on Aug. 15 at 650 S.E. 162nd Ave., Apt. 37. Arrested: Taylor L. Kraig, 21. Kraig is accused of killing his girlfriend's son. He's pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder by abuse, aggravated felony murder, murder by abuse, felony murder, unlawful sexual penetration of the toddler, third-degree degree assault, fourth-degree assault constituting domestic violence and first-degree criminal mistreatment.

13. Martin Ochoa Bettles, 25: Bled to death from a stab wound to the leg on Sept. 3 in the 3200 block of Northeast 111th Drive. Arrested: Kelby Jake, 36. Ochoa was found dead in a car. Jake was detained at the scene. Jake told court staff that he and Ochoa were "like brothers." The two knew each other for about three years, started hanging out together and "were getting high and drinking," an acquaintance told court officials. Jake has pleaded not guilty to murder.

14. Marquis Taylor, 18: Died from gunshot wound to the throat on Sept. 19 at 8125 N. Hereford Avenue. Richard Anderson III, 19, fired the single shot. A grand jury found Anderson acted in self-defense. Taylor had robbed Anderson of marijuana at gunpoint, according to police and prosecutors. Officers found Taylor in front of a house about 8:30 p.m. He died at the scene.

15. Michael Hoven, 45: Died from multiple gunshot wounds on Sept. 23 at 1727 S.E. 162nd Ave. Arrested: Felauai Satele, 38, and Jessica Hutchinson, 33. A neighbor called 911 about 11 a.m. after hearing shots, police said. Witnesses reported seeing a man and woman running from the home. Hutchinson has pleaded not guilty to murder, robbery and burglary with a firearm. Satele has pleaded not guilty to four counts of aggravated murder with a firearm, felon in possession of a firearm, robbery and burglary.

16. Reginald Harris Jr., 2: Died of a methadone overdose on Oct. 10 at 4915 S.E. 11th Ave., Apt. 1. Arrested: Willie Lee Harris Jr., 35, the boy's uncle. Harris has pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter, tampering with physical evidence, first-degree criminal mistreatment and possession of heroin. Detectives believe Harris left the drug in a place where the boy had access, but didn't intentionally give the drug to his nephew.

17. Mitra Mehrabadi, 36: Died of multiple gunshot wounds on Oct. 22 at her place of work, Liberty Mutual Insurance at 650 N.E. Holladay St. Suspect Jimmy A. Morgan, 52, killed himself after killing Mehrabadi with the same gun, police said. The two had worked together at Liberty Mutual. Mehrabadai was found dead in the building; Morgan was found dead from a self-inflicted wound in a car parked outside earlier in the day. Both were married to others with children.

18. Jerry Robinson Jr., 36: Stabbed Nov. 2 at 5530 N.E. 60th Ave., Apt. 105. Arrested: Antoinette Garrett, 33. She's accused of stabbing her boyfriend of 12 years and the father of her 6-year-old child. Garrett has pleaded not guilty to murder constituting domestic violence and unlawful use of a firearm.

19. Mark Whelan, 43: Stabbed on Nov. 20 at Southwest Third Avenue and Oak Street. He died at a local hospital six days later. Arrested: Charles Longjaw, 49. Police found Whelan "soaked in blood,'' with at least three puncture wounds to his abdomen, according to court records. They found a blood trail from the Embassy Suites hotel, where a security officer had just escorted Whelan, Longjaw and a third man from the lobby. The men had tried to get a room and were told to leave. Video surveillance showed Longjaw lunge at Whelan and thrust his right hand at Whelan's chest three times, police said.

20. Steven Liffel, 52: Shot Dec. 6 by police at 98 S.E. 148th Ave. Police had been called to an apartment on a report of shots fired. When officers were outside the unit, Liffel fired shots at them. Later, Liffel emerged from the apartment carrying a rifle and was fatally shot by Officer Lawrence Keller. The case remains under investigation. The officer remains on paid administrative leave pending a review by a grand jury, police said.

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian