Portland Charges Jacob Clements, 45, in Stephan Varlamov's Fatal Shooting

Q: Why did first responders initially mistake a fatal rifle shooting for an overdose in a Portland parking lot?

First responders initially treated the case as an overdose because people at the scene told them the man had overdosed, and he was found unresponsive behind a dumpster in a setting where that explanation appeared plausible. According to later reporting and court records, paramedics were called to the parking lot of a Cascadia Mental Health residence in the 9200 block of Southeast Clinton Street for an unresponsive man. Witnesses on scene said he had overdosed, so medics transported him to Portland Adventist Hospital on that basis. It was only after emergency room staff examined him that they discovered two apparent gunshot wounds to his torso. Investigators later said the victim, Stephan O. Varlmov, 30, had been shot in the chest and hip. Court records also indicate the suspect, Jacob Ryan Clement, allegedly tried to reinforce the overdose narrative afterward by telling a manager that Varlmov had not died from anything he did, but from an overdose. That combination — the victim being found unresponsive, bystander claims of an overdose, and the apparent lack of an immediate obvious shooting scene — explains why the initial response did not identify it as a fatal rifle shooting. The medical examiner later ruled the death a homicide by gunfire.

2 articles · Updated · KATU · Aug 6

Stephan O. Varlamov, 30, was identified Thursday as the man who died after being found unresponsive behind a dumpster at a Southeast Portland mental health residence on July 31.
Surveillance video from Cascadia Mental Health showed resident Jacob Clements retrieving a rifle from his black Cadillac Escalade, aiming at Varlamov and firing twice, according to court records.
Paramedics were initially told Varlamov had overdosed, but hospital staff found two gunshot wounds to his torso and the medical examiner ruled the death a homicide by gunshot to the chest.
Clements, 45, was arrested with the Escalade on Aug. 1 and booked into Multnomah County Jail on second-degree murder; investigators said the rifle was not found in the vehicle.
Portland police are still seeking tips in case 26-222287 as the homicide investigation continues.