ALOHA, Ore. -- A man broke into an Aloha family's home and started swinging a Tiki torch while they were sleeping Christmas morning, police said.
Aaron Kirchmann woke up first and saw the intruder, who he said was nearly naked. Kirchmann's wife, Mindy, and their two children, ages 9 and 14, were also home.
“He wasn't wearing anything but black shorts. It may have been his underwear and I think black socks,” Aaron said. “I was more afraid he’d harm my kids than myself.”
Mindy said the rage exhibited by the man was shocking. "And his whole demeanor. I mean his whole body was just glistening from sweat," she said.
Aaron said the suspect was in his bedroom swinging an unlit Tiki torch while screaming at him and his wife.
"My daughter was in the [adjacent] room next to him," said Mindy Kirchmann, "and so a quick turn and he would have been in there. And my son came up to us twice and we had to tell him to go hide. It was scary for them."
“He was just really erratic, he was shouting a bunch of stuff, a lot of stuff I didn't understand,” Aaron said.
Then, Aaron said he pulled a gun out of his nightstand.
“I had my gun aimed at him and he was swinging overhead with a Tiki torch and he hit me on my wrist,” he said. The gun went off. No one was hit.
Aaron said he raised the gun again at the suspect but did not fire.
"I guess I just didn't want to shoot somebody on Christmas," Aaron said.
His wife then grabbed a shotgun by her night stand and started yelling at him to get out.
The suspect ran into a bathroom, bashing everything inside with the Tiki torch, the Kirchmanns said.
“He dumped out everything in our medicine chest and broke cologne bottles and tore the door off from the shower,” Aaron said.
Then, the man jumped out the back window and responding police caught the suspect in the parking lot next door.
The suspect was identified as Matthew Zamora, 28, of Sherwood. Police said he still had the torch in his hand when they captured him.
The Tiki torch had been stolen from the Kirchmann's back yard and it appeared that the suspect broke into the home by kicking in the steel back door, police said. The home is located in the 3100-block of SW 209th Street in Aloha.
Washington County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Bob Ray said Zamora was high at the time.
“It appeared to medical on scene that he had consumed a large quantity of some sort of drugs and he may have had been to that house in the past before these people lived there,” Ray said.
The bizarre chain of events appeared to have started at an auto repair shop close to the Kirchmanns' home. Police said a man who looked like Zamora was videotaped on a surveillance camera breaking into the repair shop, wandering around and taking off his shirt. The surveillance video also showed the man breaking out - through a window.
Zamora was arrested on several charges including robbery, burglary, unlawful use of a weapon and criminal mischief. He also had a felony warrant. He was lodged in the Washington County Jail on $50,000 bail.
Kirchmann noted that he is a former police officer and U.S. Marine. His wife works as an armed security guard.
"He picked the wrong house," Kirchmann said. "This is not a place you want to be breaking into. We're safe here."
