Man wore fake bomb vests in stores and threatened detonation, OR officials say
A man accused of wearing fake explosive vests into two Oregon stores and demanding employees empty the cash register or open the safe is heading to prison, officials said.
Nicholas Contreras-Salmion, from Woodburn, was ordered by a judge to serve more than eight years behind bars, the Marion County District Attorney’s Office said in an Aug. 4 news release.
He also was sentenced to three years of supervision once he’s out of prison, prosecutors said.
“Robbery is traumatizing enough, but the use of a fake explosive device to instill fear and force compliance by his victims is a heightened level of callousness,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Brendan Murphy said in the news release.
Contreras-Salmion’s attorney told McClatchy News that her client cooperated with police, took responsibility for his actions and didn’t intend to hurt anyone.
“The vests did not contain any type of explosives or materials that could cause injury,” Tiffany L. Humphrey said in an Aug. 5 email.
Fake bomb vests
Contreras-Salmion is accused of going into a Woodburn store in January wearing “what appeared to be a vest strapped with dynamite” and “holding what looked like a detonator,” prosecutors said.
He demanded money, making a threat “to detonate the device if the victim did not comply,” according to prosecutors.
The clerk turned over cash, and Contreras-Salmion left, prosecutors said.
The next month, he entered another Woodburn store, went to the counter, and revealed “what appeared to be another bomb” under his sweatshirt, according to prosecutors.
“He told the victim she had seven minutes to open the safe,” and he “pressed a button, activating red flashing lights on the vest” when she said she couldn’t get in and made a move toward her phone, prosecutors said.
He then “warned she now had only three minutes,” according to prosecutors.
He left without money, prosecutors said.
Contreras-Salmion had on “yet another hoax-destructive device” when he was later contacted by police, prosecutors said.
He admitted to building the vests and “engaging in the robberies,” according to prosecutors, who said he reported being in need of money.
A grand jury indicted him on charges of robbery in the second degree, attempted robbery in the second degree and possession of a hoax destructive device, prosecutors said.
He pleaded guilty Aug. 4, The Oregonian reported, citing court records.
Past tragedy
Woodburn, which is about a 30-mile drive southwest from Portland, has a tragedy involving an explosive device in its relatively recent past.
A bomb went off at a bank in 2008 “during an extortion attempt,” killing a state trooper and a Woodburn police officer and wounding Woodburn’s then-police chief, according to information from the city.
Murphy, the Marion County chief deputy district attorney, made reference to the city’s history in the news release.
In her email, Humphrey, Contreras-Salmion’s attorney, said her client “was unaware of the 2008 Woodburn bombing and the heightened sensitivity his community has to this type of conduct. He apologizes to the clerks, the community, and to the Woodburn Police Department.”
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