Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt today announced that a Multnomah County jury delivered a guilty verdict for Phillip Lawrence Nelson, 42, for the 2020 fatal stabbing of two people in Northeast Portland.  

Incident

On June 16, 2020, at 3:44 p.m., Portland Police officers responded to a report of a stabbing in the 1400 block of Northeast Davis Street. Officers arrived and located two victims – Najaf “Nate” Hobbs, who died at the scene, and Cassy Leaton, who later died at the hospital. The suspect – later identified as Phillip Lawrence Nelson – had fled the scene before officers arrived.

On June 18, 2020, PPB located and arrested Nelson. He was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center, where he has been held ever since. 

Trial & Verdict

The trial took place in front of Judge Eric Dahlin from April 8-26, with Deputy District Attorney Rachna Hajari and Senior Deputy District Attorney Amanda Nadell as prosecutors. The 12-person jury delivered the verdict on April 26, finding Nelson guilty of:

• One count of Murder in the Second Degree (victim Cassy Leaton)
• One count of Manslaughter in the First Degree (victim Najaf Hobbs) 

Sentencing is scheduled for May 24 at 9 a.m. in front of Judge Dahlin. 

The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office thanks the Portland Police Bureau for their assistance with this case.

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