Two Men Fight Drill-Wielding Homeowner After Their Car is Towed at Last Thursday

"He was so weak that it felt like butterflies kissing me," victim says on Reddit.

REGULATORY NIGHTMARE: This may look wholesome, but some Alberta Street locals say Last Thursday gets out of hand after dark.

The mess that is Last Thursday has now grown violent—over a parking spot.

Two men assaulted an Alberta-area resident, who fought back with a cordless drill, after the homeowner had their car towed for blocking his driveway during Last Thursday, police say.

The news adds to the woes of the 15-block street festival, where Mayor Charlie Hales has cracked down on widespread lawbreaking and seen the volunteer organizers, "Friends of Last Thursday," board subsequently quit in June.

Police arrested Mitchell Asa, 21, and Marcus Forest-Cooper, 24, around 9:30 pm last night, after officers saw them running from the house.

Dirk Tarman, 37, who lives on Northeast 18th Avenue just off Alberta, told police that a week ago he saw a black BMW partially blocking his driveway, and he left a note asking them not to do so. Then, again last night, the same car was blocking his driveway again. He called police and had parking patrol tow the car.

A group of four men knocked on his door demanding to know where the car was, police say. After Tarman told the men the BMW was towed, Forest-Cooper then came up to Tarman's porch and began assaulting him—and the fight moved into the house, police say.

UPDATE, 1 pm: Mayor Charlie Hales' spokesman Dana Haynes says the mayor remains committed to finding a way to manage Last Thursday.

"This incident sounds terrible," Haynes says. "The mayor is not going to change Last Thursday with one Last Thursday left to go this summer. It can't be ignored. It won't go away."

Tarman has apparently written all about the experience himself on Reddit, where he originally posted asking for advice on how to deal with the car. He then got back on his post to describe the fight:

Tarman writes that after he threw the men out, one of them tried to steal his cordless drill, but he still had a good grip on it and slammed the door in their faces.

Police say Forest-Cooper had an injury on one of his arms, and was treated and released at a Portland hospital. Asa and Forest-Cooper were charged with burglary in the first degree and assault in the third degree and were booked into the Multnomah County Jail.

Their arraignment is set for Sept. 3. One other man wasn't located by police, the fourth wasn't charged.

WW staff writer Sara Sneath contributed to this report.

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