Police arrest suspect in violent downtown Portland robberies
In one case the suspect hit the victim with a golf club, poured hot coffee on him, and stomped on his head while he was down.
PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - Police say a man behind a string of violent assaults in downtown Portland has been taken into custody.
Before 4 p.m. Friday, the Portland Police Bureau confirmed the suspect was identified as 34-year-old Harold P. Griffin III and booked by officers.
On Monday, March 13 at 8:36 a.m., officers responded to Southwest 5th Avenue and Southwest Salmon Street on a report of an assault and found an injured man who told them he was attacked by a stranger without warning. The suspect hit the victim with a golf club, poured hot coffee on him, and stomped on his head while he was down. The suspect robbed the victim of his backpack before running away. The victim was taken to the hospital by ambulance for non-life threatening injuries.
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Another assault and robbery was reported the following day on March 14 at 2:44 a.m. at West Burnside Street and Southwest 5th Avenue. Officers and EMS arrived and found a man unconscious on the sidewalk. He was taken to the hospital by ambulance. Officers found that the victim had been assaulted and robbed. Detectives believe the suspect is believed to be the same as the previous case.
Detectives have also been investigating the possibility Griffin III may be connected to other reported assaults.
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On Friday at 3 p.m., PPB confirmed Griffin III was in custody and being booked.
Griffin III was arrested and booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on charges of Robbery in the First Degree (2 counts), Assault in the Second Degree, Assault in the Fourth Degree, and Fraudulent Use of a Credit Card.
According to PPB, investigators immediately began receiving tips from the public regarding possible suspects.
The PPB added even as Central Precinct officers recognized him, someone reported a sighting of the suspect near the Southwest 4th Avenue and Southwest Washington Street incident.
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