Gladis Mendoza Hernandez

The life of Gladis Mendoza Hernandez, a 42-year-old Hispanic woman, ended on a Wednesday night in Portland, Oregon. On July 6, 2022, at around 11:22 p.m., Ms. Mendoza Hernandez was with two men at the intersection of East Burnside Street and Northeast 148th Avenue when a car drove past. A person inside the vehicle opened fire on the group in what was later described as a drive-by shooting.

When East Precinct officers arrived at the scene, they found Ms. Mendoza Hernandez deceased. A second victim, an adult male named Brandon Dunn, was suffering from gunshot wounds to his lower extremities. He was transported to a local hospital for treatment and was later released. A third person in their group, Ricardo Torres, was also targeted but was not physically harmed. The shooter had fled before police were called. An autopsy by the Medical Examiner later confirmed that Ms. Mendoza Hernandez died from a gunshot wound, and her death was officially ruled a homicide.

The Portland Police Homicide Unit led the investigation, which continued for more than seven months. A breakthrough came on Tuesday, February 28, 2023, when the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force arrested a suspect in the nearby city of Gresham. The man taken into custody was 22-year-old Isai Ramos Damian. He was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center and charged in connection with the murder of Gladis Mendoza Hernandez.

Isai Ramos Damian remained in custody until his trial, which took place in late June and early July of 2024. On July 3, 2024, a Multnomah County jury delivered its verdict, finding Ramos Damian, by then 24, guilty. He was convicted of second-degree murder with a firearm for the death of Ms. Mendoza Hernandez. The jury also found him guilty of two counts of first-degree attempted murder, one count of second-degree assault, and four counts of unlawful use of a weapon for his attacks on all three victims. As of July 2024, the case was considered solved, and Ramos Damian was awaiting a sentencing hearing scheduled for later that month.