A month-long homicide investigation has finally culminated in an indictment. 33-year-old Jesse James Harold, already behind bars on a separate charge, now faces a second-degree murder charge in connection to the January slaying of Deante Dean Watts in the Old Town Neighborhood of Portland.
Portland Police Bureau's Homicide Unit connected the dots that led to Harold's doorstep while he was cooling his heels in Whatcom County, Washington for other alleged misdeeds, according to the Portland Police Bureau. On the first day of March, after an administrative shuffle and the signing of extradition papers, authorities booked Harold into Multnomah County Detention Center on a standing felony warrant.
The case seemed to pick up pace when, on March 14, a Grand Jury laid down the law with an indictment for Murder in the Second Degree and Unlawful Use of a Weapon aimed square at Harold, per reports from the police bureau. This legal milestone marks a new chapter in an investigation that's been both exhaustive and trying, stretching the resources and tenacity of local law enforcement.
As the case heats up, the cops are on the hunt for more information. Detectives Sean Macomber and Eric McDaniel have called on anyone in the know about the case, who hasn't yet gabbed with the fuzz, to get in contact. These calls for community input, bearing urgency and a plea for civic duty, come with actual email addresses and digits. Macomber and McDaniel can be reached at [email protected] 503-823-0404 or [email protected] 503-823-0833, respectively. The case number to drop? It's 24-9326.
