A 41-year-old Portland woman is being held without bail after she allegedly approached a man outside his apartment door at Kado NW Apartments, lunged at him with a knife, and threatened to stab him to death. Emily Suzanne Rogen was arraigned Tuesday on 16 charges stemming from the incident, and court records show a yearslong pattern of similar knife-related confrontations across the city.
Neighbor Fled in Fear, Police Say
According to KATU, the man fled because he feared for his life after Rogen threatened him outside his unit at the complex, which sits at 1378 NW 18th Avenue in Portland's Alphabet District. The station reports Rogen then wrote the word “trafficer” on an apartment door using the knife. Kado NW Apartments is a residential complex built in 2020 with studio through three-bedroom units, according to Homes.com.
The station's report, drawn from court documents, lays out a broader pattern of alleged vandalism tied to Rogen, including engraving the word “killer” on a third resident's door and writing “trespass” on another woman's door with a knife. Court documents also describe Rogen chasing another woman into her apartment and trying to enter yet another woman's unit, per the same account.
A History Stretching Back Years
Rogen's record includes a 2010 conviction for fourth-degree domestic violence assault in Clark County, the article notes. In August 2021, she was arrested after allegedly threatening two people with a knife and threatening to throw a boulder at a man's car, reportedly because she believed the people had information about something stolen from her. That case was ultimately dismissed after the state was unable to proceed, according to court records cited in the report.
Two months later, in October 2021, Rogen was arrested at Unthank Plaza — an 80-unit affordable housing complex on North Williams Avenue operated by Home Forward specifically for seniors 62 and older and people with disabilities. Court documents describe Rogen trying to break down an apartment door while a man's partner and 10-year-old son were inside; she reportedly told the child not to trust the man. She claimed self-defense in that case, and she was ultimately sentenced in March 2022 to three months of probation and 90 days in jail after pleading guilty to attempted assault and being convicted of unlawful use of a weapon.
Trespassed From a Neighborhood Retail Landmark
That same month, October 2021, Rogen allegedly threatened to stab a Walgreens store manager on Northeast Grand Avenue and threatened staff with a knife at the Hollywood Fred Meyer, after which she was asked to leave both businesses following trespass notices. Those charges were later dismissed. The Hollywood Fred Meyer, according to historical records, first opened in 1931 as founder Fred G. Meyer's original full-block retail store and has long served as a commercial hub in Northeast Portland.
Court documents also describe an incident in which Rogen stabbed a woman in the arm after the woman asked her to leave and remove her belongings, adding another violent episode to the pattern prosecutors have compiled. Rogen was arrested on multiple charges in September 2021 as this string of incidents unfolded across the city.
Facing Felony Exposure and No Bail
Rogen now faces multiple counts of menacing, unlawful use of a weapon, and burglary tied to the Kado NW Apartments incident. Under Oregon law, unlawful use of a weapon is a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison, according to Oregon statute, while menacing is a Class A misdemeanor carrying up to 364 days in jail. First-degree burglary, meanwhile, is a Class A felony that can bring up to 20 years in prison under ORS § 164.225 when a defendant enters a dwelling unlawfully with intent to commit a crime or threatens a dangerous weapon during a burglary.
Rogen's no-bail status stems from Article I, Section 43 of the Oregon Constitution, which allows judges to hold defendants without bail when there is probable cause a violent felony occurred and clear and convincing evidence shows releasing the defendant would risk physical injury to victims or the public, according to FindLaw. First-degree burglary and unlawful use of a weapon fall under Oregon's standard felony sentencing guidelines rather than the mandatory minimums set by Ballot Measure 11, according to Scissors Law.
Part of a Wider Pattern in the Alphabet District
The alleged attack adds to a string of knife-related incidents that have rattled Northwest Portland's Alphabet District in recent months. Hoodline previously reported on a shelter-in-place order triggered by an armed suspect near NW 18th Avenue and Johnson Street, part of a pattern that also included an August 2025 stabbing in the same corridor. Separately, Hoodline covered another violent knife incident involving a female suspect elsewhere in Northwest Portland in May.
Rogen is due back in court on September 16. Open questions remain about whether she was evaluated for mental competency or substance abuse issues during her prior probation terms between 2021 and 2022, and what, if any, additional security measures nearby apartment complexes may consider in light of the repeated pattern of alleged intruder threats.
