PORTLAND, Ore. — A man is facing bias crime and assault charges after several attacks in Portland's Hazelwood neighborhood, according to the Portland Police Bureau (PPB).
On Feb. 5, PPB responded to reports of an assault at an apartment in the area of Southeast Ash Street. When officers arrived, they found a man with minor injuries who had been punched in the face by a neighbor who had also called him a racial slur in the past.
Officers found the neighbor, Fabian Bigeagle, 51, of Portland, arrested him and held him at the Multnomah County Detention Center. He was held on a charge of assault in the fourth degree, according to PPB. He was also later charged with bias crime in the first-degree.
According to court documents obtained by KGW, an officer stated that the victim had a bloody nose and saw blood drops on the hallway floor outside the victim's apartment. The victim stated that Bigeagle has called him the "n-word" since he moved in the apartment complex three months prior.
PPB spoke with a manager of the apartment complex who stated that the victim made formal complaints as recently as Jan. 29, regarding Bigeagle referring to him as the "n-word" and being aggressive towards him unprovoked, according to court documents.
Court documents also noted that Bigeagle was visibly intoxicated and seen by an officer holding a can of malt liquor. Bigeagle told the officer that the victim "pounds on their shared wall to disturb him." He also admitted to punching the victim due to the "pounding" sound.
Bigeagle also told officers that he suffers from PTSD and has spent time in a mental hospital. Officers said he told them that there were "listening devices" in his light fixture, which officers witnessed was broken. He admitted to not taking any medication for his PTSD, and stated that him calling the victim the "n-word" in the past including Feb. 5 was not a motivation for the assault, according to court documents.
Bigeagle was later released and returned to his Hazelwood area home. Police explained in a news release that he was released from jail because the bias charge was added later. Release guidelines would have called for him to be kept in jail if he had initially been charged with a bias crime, police said, but the guidelines called for him to be released since the sole charge at the time was fourth-degree assault.
On March 13, PPB responded to reports of another assault. When officers arrived, they found the same man that was previously punched by Bigeagle back in February. Bigeagle had allegedly punched him in the face and called him a racial slur again. Bigeagle took off from the scene, according to PPB.
Portland police said the following day, March 14, officers returned to the same apartment and were able to find and arrest Bigeagle once again. He was charged with bias crime in the second-degree, burglary in the first-degree and assault in the fourth-degree.
PPB's Major Crimes Unit investigated both incidents regarding Bigeagle.
References
If you've been the victim of a bias crime assault, or you are witnessing one, immediately call 911.
If you've been the victim of a different bias crime and the suspect is no longer present, such as vandalism or graffiti, please call the PPB non-emergency line at 503-823-3333 or the non-emergency line for your local police department.
To learn more about bias crime investigations and reported bias/hate crime statistics in the city of Portland, please visit PPB's bias crime statistics website.
Follow the links below to learn more about bias crime under Oregon law:
- Bias Crime in the First Degree (oregonlaws.org)
- Bias Crime in the Second Degree (oregonlaws.org)