Man accused of terrorizing older couple blames bath salts, Oregon officials say
A man accused of “terrorizing” an older Oregon couple defended himself in court by saying he had mistakenly ingested bath salts instead of meth, according to prosecutors.
The 35-year-old man testified during his trial, which culminated with a jury finding him guilty of first-degree burglary, criminal mischief, coercion and menacing charges, the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office said in a June 11 news release.
McClatchy News reached out to his attorney June 12 and was awaiting a response.
The man is accused “of forcing his way into the home of a couple aged 76 and 85” in March 2023 in Portland, prosecutors said.
The couple saw the man take their ladder and at first mistook him for their gardener, later realizing that wasn’t the case, according to prosecutors.
The man “began yelling at the couple to leave their house” and then “forced his way” inside, “followed by his girlfriend and their dog,” according to prosecutors. He was heard on a 911 call screaming at the couple and saying “nonsensical things,” prosecutors said.
“(The man) claimed the place was his house while he was inside. The female victim tried to grab her phone before she left, but (the man) snatched it out of her hands,” prosecutors said.
The man then made the couple go outside in the freezing rain, according to prosecutors.
When police arrived, the man wouldn’t leave and a team had to blow the door open, prosecutors said.
He is scheduled to be sentenced in August, prosecutors said.
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