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Jason Petersen, 32, was killed in front of Golden Key Insurance on Southeast 82nd Avenue after the business owner threw away some of his belongings. Petersen suffered from schizophrenia and was living on the streets.

(Molly Harbarger)

At Thanksgiving, Jason Petersen seemed to be doing well, his younger brother said. He was taking his medication for schizophrenia and wasn't hearing voices or hallucinating.

But a few weeks ago, Petersen, 32, lost a job, seemed to stop taking his medication again, and decided to move out of his father's home and head to New Orleans to live with a friend. But Petersen never actually left.

The family learned Monday that Petersen had been shot by a business owner outside the Golden Key Insurance building after an argument that afternoon.

"Even though our family tried to help him, that never worked," Justin Petersen, 29, said.

Charlie Win Chan, 47, killed Jason Petersen with a single gunshot, Portland police said. Petersen died Monday night at the hospital where he was taken after he was shot, police said.

Chan, who owns the insurance company, hasn't been arrested. The case will be referred to a grand jury once police complete their investigation.

Police said Petersen had stashed some of his belongings on the porch of Golden Key Insurance, which houses two other offices. Chan moved the pile, which angered Petersen.

He threatened Chan, 47, and Chan's wife, said Sgt. Pete Simpson. Chan then went outside to see if Petersen was gone and shot him at that time, shortly after 2:30 p.m.

Justin Petersen said his brother wasn't threatening as a child and teen, but became increasingly paranoid as he got older. When he was 18, the brothers were in a carwreck that landed Jason Petersen in the hospital with broken ribs, collapsed lungs and a ruptured spleen. He changed after that, becoming a little more reserved. Then he started getting into legal trouble in his mid-20s and was diagnosed with adult onset schizophrenia after being arrested in Idaho.

When he returned to Portland five years ago, he was in and out of jail and off and on his medication, Justin Petersen said.

"When we said he needs help, he wouldn't listen to us," Justin Petersen said. "We've called judges and police officers and tried to tell them."

The family asked a judge to force Jason to receive psychiatric help through a civil commitment, but he didn't meet the high legal bar.

Justin Petersen said his brother was smart and a talented cook, graduating from culinary school with honors. He was popular with friends and girls as they grew up in Canby, Oregon City and Wilsonville. He then lived around the Portland area as an adult.

Over time, he withdrew. He bounced between family members, Justin Petersen said, and was never physically violent but was hard to live with because of his sometimes scary behavior spurred by delusions.

"He definitely became a different person. When I would look him in the eyes, he wasn't the same person," Justin Petersen said.

Jason Petersen's death appears to be a culmination of tensions that have grown in the Lents area for years. Some business owners and residents feel forgotten by the city -- large potholes dot the strip of Southeast 82nd Avenue where the shooting happened, several businesses nearby are out of business and houses appear abandoned.

For many, the influx of homeless people is a major flashpoint. Darin Dale, whose father and uncle opened Dale's Barber Shop 48 years ago, said he has seen the neighborhood become slowly overtaken.

The barber shop is across the street from Golden Key Insurance, and Dale has shooed away a few people who pitched tents on in his parking lot. But he said he hasn't had any confrontations or problems.

"It seems like there's more of them and they're just wanting a place to stay," Dale said.

At Al's Shoes and Boots next door to Golden Key, Jake Stuart said he often finds the remnants of people's belongings in the morning. He and other employees throw away trash, needles and sometimes suitcases with clothes spilling out, not knowing if it belongs to someone who will come back for it.

Stuart was working Monday when the shooting occurred. He was surprised he didn't hear the shot because he was by the large glass double doors when police swarmed the block and held Chan after he came out of his business with his hands up.

Stuart interacts with homeless people occasionally in the area -- more so since the Springwater Corridor sweep sent people camping there into Lents -- but never feels unsafe.

"I can't say it's gotten to be a dangerous experience for me," he said.

That section of Southeast 82nd divides the Mount Scott-Arleta neighborhood and Lents, which has one of the highest numbers of complaint calls to the city's hotline.

Tim Spargur, who said he's been living under an overhang at Southeast 88th Avenue and Tolman Street for four months, said he feels some animosity from residents and business owners. He recognizes that some people steal food from local grocery stores and sleep in public places.

Spargur has had several felony and misdemeanor convictions for various charges, including robbery and driving violations.

He was surprised when he saw police and an ambulance Monday. He walked over to see what happened and later heard the details. He has never seen any conflicts of that kind in the neighborhood.

"I haven't had any problems, but I know there have been a lot of people with attitudes," Spargur said of people who want him and other homeless people gone.

-- Molly Harbarger

mharbarger@oregonian.com

503-294-5923

@MollyHarbarger