Portland Man Arrested for Throwing a Bomb Under an RV Belonging to Transients

Weary of uninvited guests in his neighborhood, east-sider allegedly tries to blow up unwanted vehicle.

BY RACHEL MONAHAN AND JULIA COMNES

A man in East Portland's Centennial neighborhood was arrested yesterday for allegedly throwing an "unexploded improvised device" under an RV parked on the streets, Portland Police Bureau officials say.

Jeremy Patrick Kidwell, 46, was charged with manufacturing a destructive device, possession of a destructive device and arson in the first degree for the attack on the RV near near SE 160th Avenue and Division Street.

Kidwell, who has no criminal history, lives nearby with his wife and kids, court records show.

"[Kidwell] lives in the area and my understanding is the investigators were led to believe that the issue may have been around people living on the street/in RVs in the suspect's neighborhood," says Portland Police Bureau spokesman Pete Simpson.

Tensions over homeless campers and RVs parked on the city streets have run high in Portland but rarely if ever involved neighbors attacking the transients.

Here's the Portland Police Bureau's account of the incident:

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