Skulking man, brandishing weapon, arrested near OMSI parking lot

Published 12:00 am Sunday, November 24, 2024

As many as a dozen Central Precinct officers were dispatched to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) parking lot at noon on October 30th.

The officers – sent for this “Suspicious-with-Weapon” incident – closed down the 1900 block of S.E. Water Avenue, and the stub of 2nd Avenue, as they searched for the “man with a gun” reported to be in the area of the science museum.

The hunt went on for just over an hour, with officers making a dragnet through the vehicles in the parking lot, and in the bushes alongside – until a man was found eventually, and was taken into custody.

“A man was reported to be pointing a gun at people in that area,” PPB Public Information Officer Sergeant Kevin Allen later told THE BEE. “It took over an hour to convince him to come out of hiding in the bushes.

“He never complied, so officers were required to apprehend the subject using a ‘less lethal kinetic impact sponge round’ during the confrontation.

“Officers did not locate a gun, but he had a long railroad spike that he may have been holding to mimic a gun,” Sergeant Allen reported – adding that this subject also had multiple arrest warrants. No bystander had been injured by the suspect’s menacing.

45-year-old David James Alexander was arrested and booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center (MCDC) that afternoon at 2:32 p.m. on two charges of Disorderly Conduct, two counts of Menacing, and also Escape in the Third Degree.

At his arraignment the judge “released” one count of Disorderly Conduct and the Escape charge. However Alexander is currently being held in the MCDC on previous Misdemeanor charges, including Theft in the Third Degree, in lieu of $1,000 bail.