For the best experienceDownload the Mobile App
App Store Play Store
Man arrested for killing ‘Sheriff of Clinton Street’ at Portland homeless camp
Man arrested for killing ‘Sheriff of Clinton Street’ at Portland homeless camp
Man arrested for killing ‘Sheriff of Clinton Street’ at Portland homeless camp

Published on: 07/09/2025

This news was posted by Oregon Today News

Go To Business Place

Description

An undated photo of Kenny Housman, right. Housman helped organize a homeless camp near his home until he died in a knife attack in July 2024.

A Southeast Portland man accused of fatally stabbing another man who enforced rules around a homeless camp was arrested Wednesday, days after being indicted for manslaughter.

On Friday, Multnomah County prosecutors published an indictment accusing Ronnie L. Scott of killing Kenny Housman, who local media at the time dubbed the “sheriff of Clinton Street,” last year.

Scott, 61, is facing first- and second-degree manslaughter charges, as well as first-degree assault.

The indictment accusing Scott became public Friday. Even though grand jury indictments for serious crimes like manslaughter are often sealed, Scott’s wasn’t because he and his attorney had been actively communicating with prosecutors during the grand jury process, a Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office spokesperson said.

Graffiti along Clinton Street outside of Kenny Housman’s property in Southeast Portland, Ore., reads “Kenny Remembers” on July 9, 2025. Housman was killed in July 2024 while attempting to break up a fight between two homeless campers, and there is now a warrant out for his indicted killer’s arrest.

The prosecutor’s office said while Scott was free, he was aware he had been charged with the killing. Scott’s attorney did not immediately respond to OPB’s requests for comment.

Scott lived near Housman, who owned property along Clinton Street near its intersection with Southeast 136th Avenue. With Housman’s consent, people living in RVs and other vehicles lined the street near Housman’s property and developed an ad hoc encampment that drew headlines.

Housman told Portland television station KATU in 2024 that he screened people living in the neighborhood and would enforce rules, such as keeping the street clean.

How new Multnomah County data explains the region’s homelessness crisis

Shortly after midnight July 15, 2024, officers dispatched to the encampment found Housman with life-threatening injuries. He later died at a hospital from what a medical examiner identified as fatal stab wounds.

Property records show Scott lived at the nearby Copperfield Condominiums, where he purchased a unit in October 2023.

Housman’s half-brother, Larry Vaughn, told OPB he has heard from neighbors that Scott was on Clinton Street the night Housman died and was ranting about the homeless encampment. When Houseman exited his home to speak to Scott, he was attacked, according to Vaughn.

A man, left, walks along Clinton Street lined with barricades to prevent people from parking along the shoulder in Southeast Portland, Ore., outside of Kenny Housman’s property on July 9, 2025.

Witnesses who talked to The Oregonian/OregonLive in 2024 said they saw a man - who was not named in the article — holding a bloody knife and standing near Housman on the ground, bleeding from an apparent neck wound. The witnesses said they used a stick to hit the knife out of the man’s hand before police arrived.

Portland officers detained Scott that night, a spokesperson confirmed Tuesday. He was released and cooperative with investigators, according to an agency press release a day after the killing.

Details of the investigation that led to Scott’s indictment nearly a year later haven’t been made public. Portland police declined to release records on Housman’s death in October 2024, citing an ongoing investigation.

“I’d rather it been done earlier, but if it took them this long then that’s what it did,” Vaughn said. “The only thing I’m interested in is the fact that it finally got done.”

In Multnomah County, homeless deaths are on the rise

According to Vaughn, residents of the encampment held Scott down until police arrived after Housman was stabbed.

“I feel better now than I did. We got him indicted, that’s two-thirds of the battle right there,” Vaughn said.

Housman was killed following years of rapidly rising unsheltered homelessness in Portland that sparked fierce debate among political leaders, led to tensions in neighborhoods and saw growing violence against unhoused people.

Initial press reports described the stabbing as having started when residents of the encampment got into an altercation. Vaughn said that wasn’t true. He described residents of the camp as mostly working people who Housman tried to help.

Multiple signs on Clinton Street prevent people from parking their cars outside of Kenny Housman’s property.

Vaughn said Housman got along with everybody, even though he was sometimes stern with the people he welcomed to stay along the street.

“A stranger was just one more friend he hadn’t met yet,” he said. “God, I miss him.”

Clinton Street no longer has RVs and other campers parked along Housman’s property in the year since he died. City officials have lined the street with barricades to prevent parking and signs on the street warn violators they will be towed.

Scott did not have any pending court dates as of Wednesday afternoon.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/07/09/ronnie-scott-sheriff-clinton-street-manslaughter-charges/

Other Related News

07/10/2025

Multnomah County probation and parole officers are jailing fewer people for minor parole v...

UN says if US funding for HIV programs is not replaced, millions more will die by 2029
UN says if US funding for HIV programs is not replaced, millions more will die by 2029

07/10/2025

The 4 billion that the US pledged for the global HIV response for 2025 disappeared virtual...

Use bet365 bonus code ORL365 to claim $150 in bonus bets for Wimbledon, MLB and Women’s EUROs
Use bet365 bonus code ORL365 to claim $150 in bonus bets for Wimbledon, MLB and Women’s EUROs

07/10/2025

Its an intriguing Thursday in the world of sports The semifinals on the womens side at Wim...

07/10/2025

OSU release - CORVALLIS Ore ndash Oregon State will take part in another premier in-season...

How ICE workplace raids could weigh on North Carolina's economy
How ICE workplace raids could weigh on North Carolina's economy

07/10/2025

North Carolina relies heavily on migrant workers to harvest sweet potatoes lay concrete fa...

ShoutoutGive Shoutout
500/500