Drugs and guns seized at conveniece store near trouble North Portland park, owner arrested

Published 10:23 am Saturday, March 8, 2025

Police have arrested the owner of a convenience store near a troubled North Portland park on numerous drug charges.

During a Friday, March 8, press conference, Police Chief Bob Day and others said that drug dealing out of the nearby Stop N Go Mini Mart contributed to open air drug use and violence in nearby Dawson Park, located at North Stanton Street and North Williams Avenue.

Store owner Donald Sharma, 43, of Beaverton was arrested during a traffic stop conducted in the area. He is facing numerous drug charges.

During the press conference, police said they raided the store and seized a “significant amount” of cocaine, fentanyl, heroin, two guns (one of them stolen), multiple replica firearms, $6,600 in cash, several digital scales covered in “suspected drug residue,” and a box of razor blades.

“Investigators are confident this case will have a positive impact, a long-lasting impact on the Eliot neighborhood and this greater community,” PPB spokesman Mike Benner said.

The 2.05-acre park has long been a cultural hub for Portland’s Black community. The investigation took a year to be conducted, during which time drugs were openly sold and used in and near the park. Police records reveal there were 16 shootings at and around the park between 2020 and 2024, three of them deadly. A drive-by shooting which left nearly 90 shell casings across the park near the Arc-En-Ciel Montessori school last summer prompted renewed efforts by the city, police and community leaders to increase safety. That shooting remains unsolved.

Community leaders said police should have acted sooner.

James Posey, President of the NAACP Portland Chapter, argued the community had previously raised concerns about the store.

“We’ve known that this store has been a problem. We should have taken care of this business before now,” Posey said at the press conference. “We have to be more intentional about how we structure this community, so everybody can benefit from the economic capacity of this town… Otherwise, we’ll probably be back here again with another situation.”

“As we stand here, there have been people who have been killed right here in the park,” Dr. J.W. Matt Hennessee, Reverend of the nearby Vancouver First Baptist Church, said. “Therefore, as we come today, this is another step towards making things safer for everybody.”

Chief Day vowed to uphold recent investments in community safety, including added patrols, increased lighting, and community outreach.

“We know that this park is significant to the history of Albina, to the history of Portland, and to our black brothers and sisters in this city. And we know that sometimes the police haven’t always shown up the way that we want them to, and we understand the complexity of that,” Day said. “You have my commitment that the police bureau will continue to invest, not only in our enforcement efforts, but in our efforts around relationships, in our efforts around community, because it is making a difference.”

The investigation began after tips were received from the community. It was conducted by PPB’s North Precinct Neighborhood Response Team, in collaboration with PPB’s Human Trafficking Unit and Narcotics and Organized Crime Unit.

A search warrant was executed at the store, located at 2858 N. Williams Ave., on Monday, March 3. Court records show that when police gave Sharma the warrant, he reportedly said, “Someone must have been snitching.”

KOIN 6 News is a news partner of the Portland Tribune and contributed to this story. Their full story can be found at koin.com.