JOINT OPERATION SAFER MULTNOMAH NETS ARRESTS OF WANTED SUSPECTS, GUNS AND DRUGS

Multnomah Co. Sheriff's Office

A five-day long, joint public safety mission resulted in two dozen arrests of wanted fugitives and significant weapons and drug seizures in the Portland metro area.

The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office partnered with the United States Marshals Service, and many other local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, as part of its ongoing enhanced public safety strategy to reduce community violence.

The US Marshals Service led mission, named Operation Safer Multnomah, focused on reducing violence by targeting fugitives involved in criminal activity that have directly led to the increase in violent crime, such as murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, assaults and gun and drug trafficking.

“By pooling our resources, we can remove offenders who have shown the highest propensity of violence and disregard for human life, and hold them accountable for the crimes they have committed,” Sheriff Mike Reese said in a statement published by the US Marshals Service Thursday. “We are dedicated to creating safe and thriving communities for everyone, and collaborative missions such as this, is one way to reach our collective goal.”

Operation Safer Multnomah statistics:

• 24 fugitives arrested: 3 wanted for attempt murder by shooting, 1 pending a federal drug overdose death, 3 pending federal prosecution for possession of firearms and narcotics.
• 21 firearms: 9 reported stolen, 3 ghost guns, 1 silencer seized (homemade)
• 3 pounds of methamphetamine
• 19 grams of heroin
• 449 fentanyl pills 

Notable Arrests:

Jimmy Pearce, age 35, was wanted by the Washington County Sheriff's Office as a suspect in a 2017 homicide that occurred at the Xpose Club, located at 10270 SW Canyon Road in Beaverton, Oregon. He was located near SE Bush Street and SE 112 Avenue in Portland and was arrested without incident. Warrants include Murder in the Second Degree, Unlawful Use of a Weapon and Felon in Possession of a Firearm.

Andrey Mazur, age 32, was wanted for more than 36 armed robberies throughout the Portland and Vancouver, Washington metro area. With the assistance of Portland Police Special Emergency Response Team, Mr. Mazur was safely taken into custody after an hours-long standoff. During the standoff, Mr. Mazur cut his hair to change his appearance. A handgun recovered in the lawn outside of the Jantzen Beach residence is alleged to have been thrown by Mazur. Mazur is a convicted felon.

Alexander Barber, age 27, was wanted for federal charges stemming from the theft of more than 35 firearms from a licensed dealer, in addition to a charge of felon in possession of a firearm. Mr. Barber was arrested after being located hiding in the attic of a Portland residence. During the operation, law enforcement was able to locate and recover eight of the stolen firearms in this case through search warrants.