An unprovoked attack in downtown Portland left two men in their 80s with grave injuries Saturday night, and the man investigators believe is responsible was arrested shortly after the assault, police said.
The suspect, 29-year-old Keffer White, was charged on four counts for attacking Edward Lichtenstein, 88, and Donald Pierce, 83, at a bus stop near Southwest 5th Avenue and Hall Street.
White faces two counts of first-degree attempted murder, and counts of first and second-degree assault, according to Multnomah County District Attorney’s spokesperson Elisabeth Shepard.
Officers were responding to an unrelated call near the area around 8:30 p.m. when they happened upon the assault while it was in progress, police said in a news release.
Witness statements and video of the incident indicate White attacked Lichtenstein and Pierce with no warning. Police said White punched and kicked both men repeatedly even after knocking them to the ground.
Both men are in the hospital with critical injuries, Shepard said in a release.
Witnesses reported that White said he was going to kill the two men during the attack, according to Shepard.
White was seated at a bus stop at Southwest Fifth Avenue and Hall Street when police arrived at the scene, Deputy District Attorney Nicole M. Hermann wrote in an affidavit filed in court.
Lichtenstein and his wife and Pierce had been waiting for a bus at the stop when White began to yell at them, and made fun of the two men for being elderly, Hermann wrote in the affidavit.
White became more aggressive and approached the group, who did not engage him, the prosecutor wrote. White “head-butts” Lichtenstein, knocking his hat off his head, and shoved him backwards before grabbing and throwing Pierce to the ground, Hermann wrote. White knocked Pierce, who uses a cane, into the street and then kicked him in the head several times, witnesses told police, according to the affidavit. White then turned back to Lichtenstein, who was attempting to walk away, and punched Lichtenstein in the face, knocking him to the ground, the affidavit said.
Pierce was found unconscious with significant injuries to his face and head and was taken to OHSU Hospital with life-threatening injuries, according to Hermann. Lichtenstein was conscious and taken to OHSU Hospital with injuries to his mouth and face, the affidavit said.
White has a string of felony convictions in Oregon stretching back to at least 2011, including unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, being a felon in possession of a firearm, strangulation and assault.
Warrants had been out for White’s arrest after he failed to appear in court earlier this year on two felony charges -- unauthorized use of a vehicle and possession of a stolen vehicle, court records show. Two different Multnomah County judges ordered police if they encountered White to cite him on the warrants in lieu of arrest and give him another court date. White was accused of driving a stolen 2020 Toyota 4Runner on Jan. 11, according to a court affidavit.
Court records originally indicated White was being charged with two bias crimes, but police said Monday that there was no evidence to support those charges. The story has been updated.
– Austin De Dios; adedios@oregonian.com
– Kale Williams; kwilliams@oregonian.com; 503-294-4048; @sfkale
Oregonian Staff Writer Maxine Bernstein contributed to this story.