PORTLAND, Oregon — The mother of Portland’s latest homicide victim is asking the public to help police catch her son’s killer.
“He was a dad, he was a good kid,” said Cherish Sawyer, whose son, 29-year-old Dominick Sawyer was murdered June 10.
According to police, Dominick was shot and killed at around 1:47 a.m. at the intersection of Southwest 3rd Avenue and Southwest Harvey Milk Street. Two other shooting victims survived. Cherish said her son was sitting in his car when it happened.
“You know somebody saw the shooter. Somebody did,” said Cherish. “I want to see the person who killed my son and look them in the eyes and let them know what they took from hundreds of people.”
Cherish said Dominick left behind three young children for whom she's trying to raise support. She picked up Dominick’s cremated remains on Tuesday and cradled the urn in her lap while sharing memories of him.
“Something about my son is whether you knew him a minute or you knew him his whole 29 years, there's something you'll always remember about him,” said Cherish. “He loved to love and that was his purpose in life, to love people and make him laugh.”
Dominick's death is the 37th homicide in Portland, this year. As investigators navigate urban and suburban landscapes rife with violent crime, Cherish said the pain she feels spills over for future victims. She wants it all to end.
“Somebody needs to do something to change it,” said Cherish. “Or there's going to be more Dominicks sitting in their car and dead.”
Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact Portland Police Detective Shaye Samora at shaye.samora@police.portlandoregon.gov or Detective Tony Harris at tony.harris@police.portlandoregon.gov and reference case number 23-62161.