Two Portland Gang Members Face Federal Charges After Illegally Purchasing More than 80 Firearms

PORTLAND, Ore.—Two self-identified members of the Unthank Park Hustlers, a local Bloods gang set, are facing federal charges after illegally purchasing 82 firearms from local gun shops since April 2020.

Edward Charles Green and his twin brother Thomas Edward Green III, both 23 and residents of Gresham, Oregon, have been charged by criminal complaint with falsifying information in connection with the acquisition of a firearm and making false statements in a federal firearms licensee (FFL) record.

According to court documents, in May 2021, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) opened an investigation after receiving information from the Gresham Police Department (GPD) and Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) describing several shooting incidents allegedly involving Edward Green and Thomas Green III. At around the same time, ATF agents also received information alleging multiple illegal firearm purchases by the brothers.

On April 5, 2020, Portland Police Bureau (PPB) officers responded to an incident involving the Greens where a gun was fired from one apartment into another on Southeast Alder Street in Portland and later seized a .357 caliber revolver. Less than two weeks later, on April 23, 2020, PPB officers responded to reports of a house struck by gunfire on NE Sumner Street in Portland. Officers observed that the gun appeared to have been fired from inside the Greens’ father’s home, leaving a small hole in their father’s front window. After telling officers he threw a rock through his own window, the brothers’ father changed his explanation and claimed a gun accidentally fired when he was showing his son how to clean it. PPB located and seized three handguns and an AK-47 from the residence. After reviewing Edward Green’s firearm purchase records, ATF agents determined Green had illegally purchased three of the four guns seized.

Between August 25 and August 30, 2020, PPB officers recovered four more firearms illegally purchased by Edward Green. One of the firearms was recovered after officers responded to a shooting incident outside the brothers’ Southeast Portland apartment. Three others were recovered when PPB officers responded to Portland Adventist Hospital to interview a walk-in  gunshot victim and observed a vehicle parked outside with obvious signs of gunshot damage. Officers arrested the vehicle’s occupants and located the firearms.

On November 11, 2020, MCSO deputies responded to a Fairview, Oregon car crash caused by gunfire involving Edward Green. Deputies later executed a search warrant on a backpack recovered from Green’s vehicle and found two more pistols Green had illegally purchased and two pounds of packaged marijuana. A few months later, on January 23, 2021, MSCO deputies recovered another firearm illegally purchased by Green during a traffic stop.

In May 2021, GPD officers responded to two separate shooting incidents at a house on SW Lillyben Avenue in Gresham. At the time of the shootings, both Green brothers listed the Lillyben residence on their Oregon driver’s licenses. During the first shooting, on May 12, 2021, an unknown assailant fired several rounds into the house. During the second shooting, on May 21, 2021, a drive-by assailant fired 14 additional rounds into the house. An unknown person in the house fired 30 rounds in response, some of which struck occupied neighboring houses. On June 3, 2021, members of the Metro Safe Streets Task Force executed a search warrant on the residence and found nine empty semi-automatic gun cases, several dozen spent bullets and cartridge casings, 27 firearm and rifle magazines, a range bag with more than 400 spent cartridges, and five receipts for recent gun purchases made by the Green brothers. Forensic analyses of the spent cartridges linked them to at least 10 different shootings in the Portland area between April 6, 2020 and July 11, 2021.

In July and August 2021, two more firearms linked to the Green brothers were recovered by law enforcement. On July 23, 2021, officers from the Beaverton Police Department conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle with no license plates. While searching the vehicle, officers located a .40 caliber pistol purchased by Thomas Green III just four days earlier. On August 30, 2021, PPB officers conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle occupied by four people, one of whom was a known member of the Hoover Criminal Gang. Officers located a .40 caliber pistol in vehicle illegally purchased by Edward Green several months earlier.

In total, between April 5, 2020 and August 30, 2021, area law enforcement officers recovered 12 firearms illegally purchased by the Green brothers. A subsequent review of ATF and State of Oregon records revealed that in an 18-month period beginning April 1, 2020, the brothers illegally purchased 82 firearms from Portland area gun shops.

On September 29, 2021, a coordinated law enforcement operation was conducted on a local apartment occupied by Victor White, a felon and gang associate of the Green brothers. Thomas Green III was found sleeping in the apartment and arrested. Investigators seized two semi-automatic firearms, 16 empty gun boxes, and ammunition from the residence. Green made his first appearance in federal court the same day and was later released to home confinement pending further court proceedings.

Edward Green was arrested today by ATF agents at his father’s residence in Northeast Portland. He made his first appearance in federal court before a U.S. Magistrate Judge and was detained pending further court proceedings.

Acting U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was investigated by members of the Metro Safe Streets Task Force including ATF, FBI, GPD, MCSO, and PPB. It is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.

A criminal complaint is only an accusation of a crime, and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Formed in April 2021, the Metro Safe Streets Task Force is a multi-agency initiative focused on investigating and prosecuting gun crimes in Multnomah County. As part of this effort, federally-deputized officers from the Portland Police Bureau, Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, and Gresham Police Department work with agents from the FBI and ATF to investigate gun crimes after they occur and, where appropriate and supported by evidence, charge those responsible in state or federal court. Prosecutors from the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon work closely with task force officers to determine if state or federal charges are warranted and which jurisdiction is most appropriate for adjudication.