Hamlin’s bike, his battered body, and the path where it happened.
(Photos: Jay Hamlin)

Back in July, Jay Hamlin was the victim of a scary assault and robbery while bicycling on the Springwater Corridor in southeast Portland.

Today the Multnomah County District Attorney announced they arrested a suspect in connection with the case and have charged him with felony robbery, assault and theft. [Read more…]

The assault happened on this stretch of path adjacent to SW Harbor Drive heading into downtown Portland.

A reader says he was attacked while bicycling in southwest Portland Thursday (August 1st) and he wants to know if anyone saw it happen. This assault took place just two weeks after another man was shoved off his bike while riding on the Springwater Corridor path.

The man, who wants to remain anonymous, has lived in Portland for about a year. He told me he was biking northbound on the path adjacent to SW Harbor Drive just north of Harrison at around 8:05 pm when it happened.

Here’s more from the victim:[Read more…]

(Photo of Nick Fish by J. Maus/BikePortland)

Following a brazen assault and robbery on the Springwater Corridor path last week, Portland Parks & Recreation will step up bike patrols.
[Read more…]

Let’s find this bike and get it back to Jay.
(Photos: Jay Hamlin)

Jay Hamlin after the assault.

A nightmare came true for 69-year-old Jay Hamlin while he was riding on the Springwater Corridor path Thursday afternoon. It’s the latest incident that illustrates the lawlessness of the popular linear park and the vulnerability of people who use it.

[Read more…]

Photo from bike-mounted camera shows car passenger’s attempted assault.
(Photos: Hank Bosak via Thomas, Coon, Newton & Frost)

We need your help to find suspects of an attempted assault and dangerous pass in Washington County that happened this past Saturday (6/22).
[Read more…]

Screen shot of coverage of the incident by The Oregonian.

Two of the three men arrested last week for stretching string across the I-205 bike path are set to make their first appearance in court today.

On Friday, November 9th, Portlander Carlene Ostedegaard was riding home from work on the path just south of the Division Street MAX station when she pedaled into what Portland Police described as a “booby trap.” She suffered laceration injuries on her face.

Police responded and were able to apprehend three men suspected of committing the crime: 23-year-old Justin J. Jones, 27-year-old Justin R. Tolman-Duran, and 21-year-old Dakota E. Murphy. On Tuesday (11/13) the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office reviewed the case.

DA’s Office Communications Director Brent Weisberg says following the investigation one of the men, Dakota Murphy, was issued a “no complaint”. The other two, Jones and Tolman-Duran, have been re-booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center and are now charged with one count each of felony assault in the third degree. Their initial booking was for misdemeanor assault.
[Read more…]

Riding along the Columbia Slough path north of Kenton.
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)

Skjelse Rapoch thought she’d just had a very bad crash while riding her bike. Now the police her family thinks she might have been attacked.

It happened Tuesday night while Rapoch was riding on the Columbia Slough path en route to Portland International Raceway where her husband (who works at Velo Cult Bike Shop) was competing in a cyclocross race. Details of the incident are scarce because Rapoch doesn’t remember anything. It was only after she was recovering in the hospital that she spoke to police and began to put the pieces together.

“What we initially thought was a terrible bicycle accident,” her family says, “is the result of something far more sinister…. it would appear an individual(s) was hiding along the path and hit Skjelse in the face with a rock while she was riding by.”

According to statements from Rapoch and her family, the police are now investigating this as a possible assault (update: the police say there is no evidence to suggest it was an attack).

A rider who found Rapoch says they saw a lone suspect fleeing the area as they rolled up. Rapoch says police have found a bloody rock has been found nearby that matches her facial trauma.[Read more…]

Robert Hudgens, a 15-year-old who threw a brick into the face of a man bicycling past him on NE Tillamook back in April was sentenced to four years in prison yesterday .

The Oregonian had a reporter in the courtroom. Here’s a snip from her story:

Police say Hudgens and a 15-year-old friend were throwing bricks at cyclists on the evening of April 19. One cyclist, Jonathan Garris, 52 of Northeast Portland, reported getting hit in the leg. A 27-year-old cyclist also said he was targeted, but not hit.

It’s unclear who struck Garris. But Hudgens was charged with striking Richardson. His friend apparently missed the cyclists, so instead of being prosecuted for a Measure 11 felony in adult court as Hudgens was, the friend was charged with a misdemeanor and allowed into juvenile court.

[Read more…]

Portland police arrested a teen boy Sunday in an iPhone robbery who they say is linked to an Aug. 19 assault and robbery involving a person on a bike.

Samaryia Lambert, 15, was taken in along with Aureaunte Bennett, 15, and Anthony Madison, 16, after several officers with a police dog responded to a 9:53 p.m. robbery of a person at Northeast 21st and Alberta by three teens. The alleged victim identified all three, police said.

Lambert was then identified by detectives as “the suspect in an Aug. 19 assault and robbery at Northeast 17th Avenue and Klickitat Street, where the victim was assaulted and knocked off his bicycle,” according to a police news release.

“Robbery detectives are reviewing other reports to determine if any of the suspects may have been involved in other assaults or robberies in Portland,” the news release said.

[Read more…]

Reddit user “SpanishMoles” shows off the damage.

A man who was bicycling down Martin Luther King Jr Blvd in northeast Portland on Sunday was allegedly the victim of an assault. After he posted a photo of his injuries to user-powered news site Reddit, a community of strangers has started donating money to help rehabilitate his injuries.

Yesterday morning, Reddit user “SpanishMoles” posted: “Some kids threw a traffic cone at me while I was riding my bike down MLK. Any other shitty areas I should avoid?” He called the police, whom he says were “helpful”, but they had no luck finding the three young kids who he saw throw the cone at him.

As you might expect, comments poured in and the online discussion touched on many different issues including: SpanishMoles’ route selection (most people avoid riding on MLK, which is a state highway); whether or not the assault happened because he was on a bike, or simply because he was at the wrong place at the wrong time; and so on.[Read more…]