A man is being held without bail on multiple charges after a series of alleged attacks in downtown Portland on Monday.
According to court documents obtained by KATU, officers first responded to reports of an assault near the Marriott Hotel at SW 14th and Naito Parkway.
A woman told police that she was using a power outlet outside the hotel to charge her phone when she saw a man walking towards her carrying a six-foot-long 2x2 piece of lumber. The woman said she told the man to "have a blessed day," but in response, he smashed the piece of wood into her legs just below her knees.
The suspect, later identified as Keith Lopez Herring, 52, reportedly tried hitting another hotel guest but missed and then left the area. Prosecutors then say Herring was involved in another incident shortly afterward at the Plaid Pantry on Southwest 1st Avenue.
A security guard in the area said Herring was talking to himself, then raised his voice to the guard and said "Are you following me?" Herring then allegedly charged at the guard and hit him in the face and left forearm with the plank.
A man working at a dental office near the Plaid Pantry told police that Herring had tried to carjack him while saying he would kill him and jabbing a metal rod at him.
When police arrested Herring, he told officers he was paranoid and worried police would harm him. While being interviewed at a police station, Herring allegedly asked for a refill of his water cup. When the detective took the water cup, he charged at her and knocked her over the hallway before being corralled by other officers.
Herring is charged with 9 criminal counts including assault, attempted assault, and escape. He was arraigned Tuesday and is due back in court on March 13.
According to jail and court records, Herring is on a county hold for failing to register as a sex offender in Sherman County in 2017. Herring is a Level 3 sex offender and was convicted of indecent liberties in 1988 and was released from prison in 2017, as reported by the Yakima Herald.
