The two police officers were stopped at a red light in Northeast Portland last Saturday when they noticed the gray car. It had no license plate – and the Oregon DMV Trip Permit stuck to the back window didn’t look quite right. The officers ran the number of the permit, which allows for the temporary use of an unregistered vehicle, and determined it was indeed fake.
They began to follow the gray car, an Audi, and eventually decided to pull it over, turning on their squad car’s lights and siren. The Audi took off, weaving through rush-hour traffic and accelerating to 95 miles per hour on Halsey Street, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The car, later determined to be driven by 34-year-old Christopher Norwood Young, “drove into oncoming traffic, ran multiple red lights, nearly collided with multiple motorists and at one point drove onto a sidewalk,” the court document states.
Young continued on to his residence, on Northeast Wasco Street in Gresham. Officers took him into custody there. According to the affidavit, the officers noted that the Audi’s VIN numbers had been altered or painted over. Inside the car, they found “a suspected forged license plate and a fake ID,” as well as a lock-picking kit and a bag containing handcuffs and many sets of keys.
That wasn’t all.
The property’s backyard was littered with stolen cars, the probable cause affidavit states. “Officers came to the realization that they’d uncovered a chop shop,” including equipment for replacing vehicle VIN numbers, Portland police said in a statement.
After obtaining a search warrant, police found seven additional stolen cars at the residence and a stolen backhoe, the affidavit reports. Inside the house, officers allegedly discovered half a dozen firearms, as well as silencers. Young also had a fake Washington state ID, police said.
Young, who according to court documents was convicted in 2016 of identity theft and unauthorized use of a vehicle, among other charges, was booked into Multnomah County Detention Center. He faces 51 charges, including identity theft, forgery, possession of a stolen vehicle, trafficking in stolen vehicles, reckless driving and felony elude.
Police added that its investigation continues and that “more charges (are) expected.”
-- Douglas Perry; dperry@oregonian.com
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