Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect court record sourcing of the surveillance video and the account from the convicted man’s wife.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A convicted felon was sentenced to serve more than 6 years in federal prison after firing a gun outside a Southeast Portland restaurant and bar in fall of 2021, the U.S. District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.
Following a shooting on Nov. 9, 2021, 53-year-old Tyrone Allen pleaded guilty to illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.
Allen, who has 18 prior felony convictions, was on post-prison supervision when officials say a fight between him and his girlfriend escalated at a restaurant bar on Southeast Division Street and Southeast 109th Avenue.
Allen was seen hitting his girlfriend before aiming a handgun into the air and firing a single gunshot, according to court documents. Surveillance video showed Allen driving around the area as his girlfriend hid behind vehicles in the parking lot, according to court documents.
While Portland police were investigating, officers saw Allen driving nearby and eventually detained him. Although Allen admitted the argument got heated, police said he denied using or possessing a firearm.
Officers discovered a .38 caliber revolver with five spent casings inside Allen’s vehicle, which he allegedly claimed belonged to his girlfriend.
Allen’s wife, Detra Stephens Allen, contacted KOIN 6 News to dispute the law enforcement account. Stephens Allen told KOIN 6 News she was never in the parking lot when the incident happened with her husband, and said she was not his girlfriend at the time, which was described by officials in court documents received earlier, and that she was married to him at the time of the incident.
She claimed she was at home at the time of the incident and her husband was picking up food from the restaurant and said police never interviewed her about it beyond coming to her house when they informed her what had happened.
PPB and the FBI handled this investigation.