Oregon Man Was in a Drug-Induced Psychotic Haze When He Hit a Passenger on a TriMet Bus
PORTLAND, Ore. — Randy Sturdevant (42) of Portland was in a meth-induced psychotic haze when he hit a woman on the Line 75 TriMet bus, a jury found earlier this week in the Multnomah County Circuit Court.
He was found guilty of fourth-degree assault and interfering with public transportation, but the jurors acquitted Sturdevant of the attempted kidnapping of a three-year-old toddler.
Giving evidence, Sturdevant did not deny hitting a woman who was traveling on the bus with her small granddaughter. Julia Hernandez testified that after hitting her, Sturdevant muttered ‘give me her’ – indicating her three-year-old granddaughter – causing her to cry out ‘…he’s trying to take my grandbaby.’
In his defense, attorney Elizabeth Wolozin said Sturdevant was under the influence of a ‘strange cocktail’ of hard drugs at the time of the incident. She said he was also suffering from wild-swing mood changes in his blood sugar levels because of poor diabetes management.
Wolozin described the incident as one of ‘our worst fears…a random act of violence by a stranger’ but argued that her client had not acted in a premeditated manner.
However, prosecutor Julian Samuels said that Sturdevant did act with intent as the TriMet bus traveled down Southeast 45th Avenue on August 20, 2020. His actions were captured by an onboard video and showed Sturdevant grabbing his hat and a plastic gallon jug of water after he was instructed to get off the bus.
He was arrested five days later.
Circuit Judge Angela Lucero declined to keep Sturdevant in custody but urged attorneys to set dates for five other misdemeanor charges he is facing.