Find out how the PPB’s outer East Portland Neighborhood Response Team kept digging after a March bust and uncovered more suspects after alleged thieves targeted this shuttered Hazelwood neighborhood facility …
In the Hazelwood neighborhood, this vandalized sign near the sidewalk points the way to the shuttered Vibra Specialty Hospital, where officers confront an ongoing wave of copper theft and break-ins.
Story and photos by David F. Ashton
On Tuesday, August 25, 2026, at about 9:00 a.m., officers from the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) responded to the closed Vibra Specialty Hospital (the former Woodland Park Hospital site) at 10300 N. E. Hancock Street in outer East Portland after a report of trespassers at the repeatedly burglarized building.
According to the company, Vibra Specialty Hospital of Portland permanently ceased patient care on February 1, 2026, citing ongoing financial challenges, resulting in the layoff of over 300 employees.
Vacant hospital repeatedly targeted
The facility had been plagued by break-ins and copper wire theft that investigators estimated caused millions of dollars in damage and repair costs.
Officers arrived to find an apparent burglary in progress. One suspect ran from the property, while another emerged from the building, then retreated back inside. Officers contained the scene and requested assistance from a K-9 unit and additional day shift patrol officers.
Although the company says the facility may reopen, behind the locked front doors copper thieves strip wiring and leave the former hospital gutted by vandalism.
Inside and around the building, officers located a large quantity of copper wire that had been coiled and bagged, apparently staged for removal. Investigators also found burglary tools, including large cutters and a winch wired to a vehicle battery. The winch had been set up to pull copper cable through conduit, a method detectives regarded as consistent with a larger-scale, organized theft operation.
Three suspects were taken into custody. A fourth suspect remained outstanding at the time of the announcement.
Inside the building, PPB East Precinct officers find coils of copper wire bundled and ready to be hauled out. PPB image
Part of ongoing large-scale copper theft probe
This break-in tied directly into a broader investigation the PPB outlined in March 2026. That case, led by their East Precinct Neighborhood Response Team (NRT), targeted an organized operation accused of stealing copper from communication infrastructure, commercial properties and other sites across Portland.
Detectives had already identified people involved in stealing, transporting and fencing stolen copper, and previously highlighted the arrest of a key broker investigators believe processed more than $487,000 in metal over the prior year. Because NRT had been deeply involved in the case, additional team members responded to assist patrol officers at Vibra on August 25; according to PPB, two of the three suspects detained there were already linked to the copper theft probe.
Here are some of the tools thieves use to strip copper from inside the vacant hospital. PPB image
Investigators reported that the August 25 arrests marked continued efforts by PPB Patrol and the Neighborhood Response Team to disrupt copper theft and the illicit trade in stolen metal. The investigation remained active as detectives worked to identify additional people involved in the operation.
Three suspects booked on burglary and theft charges
All three arrested individuals were booked into Multnomah County Detention Center (MCDC) on August 25 on a range of burglary, theft and related charges.
46-year-old Robin Lorene Kaus was booked in at 5:19 p.m. on charges of County Hold, Burglary I, Theft I, Criminal Mischief I, Aggravated Theft I, Trespass II and Burglary II, and was released the MCDC on September 3, 2026, after posting bail.
45-year-old David Andrew Mudgett Jr was booked in at 6:29 p.m. on charges of Burglary I, Aggravated Theft I, Criminal Mischief I and Trespass I, and was released from the MCDC on August 28, after posting bail.
47-year-old Benjamin Jonah Eisenmann was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center (MCDC) at 2:04 p.m. on charges of Theft I, Possession of Methamphetamine (felony), Possession of a Restricted Weapon, Burglary I, Aggravated Theft I, Criminal Mischief I, Possession of Burglary Tools, Possession of a Restricted Weapon, Trespass I and Parole or Post-Prison Supervision Violation. Eisenmann remained in custody at Inverness Jail on $20.000 bail, with a projected release date listed as unknown.
Investigators say this winch is used by copper thieves to strip insulation from heavy cable, stolen from the vacant hospital, exposing bare copper they plan to sell. PPB image
Investigation continues
PPB and NRT investigators reported that the August 25 arrests at the former Vibra Specialty Hospital were one more step in dismantling an operation they allege had stripped copper from buildings and infrastructure throughout the city.
Detectives continued working to identify the outstanding suspect from the hospital burglary, as well as others they believe helped organize, transport or profit from the stolen metal.
© 2026 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News™
