PORTLAND, OR - A Portland man is facing attempted murder, robbery, and assault charges after he left a lottery winner barely clinging to life, court documents revealed. The victim, who was stabbed 15 times in the arms, chest, and face reportedly survived by playing dead.
According to KGW, a probable cause document described the attack, stating the victim was at a bar Saturday when he won $2,000 from a lottery machine at the establishment. While at the bar, he met with a man police later identified as Pablo Andre Figueroa, 61. When the victim walked home to his apartment just a few blocks away, an affidavit revealed that the victim used a key to unlock a security gate and Figueroa, who followed closely behind, caught the gate.
Surveillance footage allegedly showed Figueroa follow the victim to his second-floor apartment steps behind him. As he opened the door, the attacker forced his way in and tackled him.
The victim was pinned to the ground by his arms as his attacker struck him in the face demanding money from him. Despite the victim's compliance and his handing over the cash, Figueroa allegedly produced a concealed pocketknife and began stabbing him in the arms, chest, and face.
The victim told officers that he started to "black out," and made the potentially life-saving decision to play dead.
A neighbor wishing to remain anonymous told KPTV, "We heard banging. We heard furniture. We heard yelling. We heard some type of argument going on. So I decided to go smoke a cigarette and then on my second cigarette, the stabbing happened." Another neighbor spotted the victim covered in blood and called 911.
”All over his head, his ear, his throat, his arms stomach, his stomach, and his legs,” the neighbor told the outlet. “He did not look like a good friend of mine.”
Figueroa, a man with a long criminal past, is reportedly known to the neighborhood, with the victim's neighbor saying, "He’s a dangerous, bad guy. I can relax about what’s happening in the neighborhood because without him here we don’t have that many problems.”
KPTV reported that his criminal history includes charges of auto theft and failure to appear in court as well as identity theft. As recently as August 16th, a day prior to the attack, he had failed to appear in court.
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