Neighbor beats burglar with baseball bat

The fleeing suspect reportedly committed crimes in outer East Portland; police got a citizen’s help in the arrest …

When officers stop a car they’d been tracking in the Lents neighborhood – the driver took off running.

Story and photos by David F; Ashton

It had been a busy day for two suspected criminals on Wednesday, January 19 – reportedly burglarizing homes in both the Lents and the Foster-Powell neighborhoods, all the while driving around in a stolen car.

At 10:09 p.m. that evening, Portland Police Bureau (PPB) Tactical Operations Division spotted the reported-stolen Subaru, with two men inside, near the intersection of SE 80th Ave and Rhone Street,

“The stolen car made an abrupt stop on Rhone Street near 82nd Avenue, and both occupants got out and fled from the Subaru,” later reported PPB Public Information Officer Sgt. Brad Yakots.

The passenger complied with officers’ requests and was taken into custody without incident, Yakots said.

But, the driver, later identified as 36-year-old Nathan Daniel Perkins, broke into a run. As officers set up a containment area and started canvassing the area, the 9-1-1 Center took a call from a resident three blocks south, in the 8000 block of SE Center Street.

Officers establish a perimeter and begin to search for the fleeing suspect.

“The caller stated that a stranger was inside his house, and he had hit the stranger over the head with a baseball bat to subdue him,” recalled Yakots.

Officers arrived and found Perkins, who’d suffered what was a “minor head wound” from the homeowner’s self-defense tactic. Perkins was taken to a local hospital for treatment, and when medically cleared five days later, was booked into jail.

This is the .357 caliber Ruger LCP revolver, and ammo, that officers found in the stolen vehicle. PPB provided image

Going through the Subaru, officers found and seized a loaded Ruger LCP .357 caliber revolver. “Based on the information gathered during the investigation, Officers believed the firearm had been in the possession of Perkins,” revealed Yakots.

Released from custody after serving nine days in jail is the car’s passenger, 38-year-old Christopher Leroy Landaker. MCDC booking photo

The passenger, 38-year-old Christopher Leroy Landaker, was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center (MCDC) at 11:39 p.m. on the evening of his arrest on charges of Unlawful Use of a Motor Vehicle and Possession of a Stolen vehicle. The judge “released” Landaker on both counts – and, although he’d violated his parole, the judge set him free on January 28. The Release Reason: “Time Served on a Sentence”.

Facing several felony and misdemeanor charges is 36-year-old Nathan Daniel Perkins. MCDC booking photo

Perkins was booked into MCDC at 12:42 p.m. on January 24 on felony firearm, burglary, and methamphetamine-possession charges.

At his arraignment later that day Perkins found that, in addition to the felony charges, he’d also be called to answer for several misdemeanors. Currently Perkins is lodged in Inverness Jail in lieu of $110,000 combined bail.

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