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Portland's warfare over home teardowns keeps erupting into confrontations between neighborhood residents and developers.
The most recent battleground: a rainbow-painted, 126-year-old house on Northeast Thompson Street, where 37-year-old Timothy Andrew Long allegedly attacked a demolition crew Nov. 2.
Portland Police Bureau spokesman Sgt. Peter Simpson says Long was arrested and charged with Criminal Trespass II and Criminal Mischief II "after trying to spray-paint equipment and harassing construction workers."
Excavator Dan Riehl tells WW that Long "sprayed the entire inside of my truck with pepper spray" before crew members chased and detained him.
The property's developer, Guy Bryant of GPB Construction, declined comment.
Police say Bryant called the cops Monday morning to complain that 37-year-old Sarah Long was harassing and videotaping the demolition crew.
Timothy Long is scheduled to be arraigned in Multnomah County Circuit Court this afternoon.
The Eliot Neighborhood Association says the house was built in 1889 by Louis Nicolai, then-president of the Portland Cracker Company.
Update, 5:05 pm: Long was arraigned this afternoon in Multnomah County Circuit Court. A hearing is scheduled for Nov. 18.
Long tells WW that he and his wife, Sarah Long, were evicted from the house in July.
"We formed an attachment to the place," he says.
Correction: This post originally stated that Sarah Long was 24. She was 37 at the time of the arrest. WW regrets the error.
Willamette Week