Thursday, November 22, 2007

Police seek man who held gun to skaters

Salem, Oregon October 28, 2007

Salem police are looking for a man who forced two skateboarders to the ground at gunpoint Friday night.

The incident occurred about 9:55 p.m. at Sunnyside Road and Creekside Drive SE, said Salem police Lt. John Hoffmeister.

The victims, a Stayton man and Mount Angel man, told police they were skateboarding in a rural residential area when another man driving by stopped and confronted them. The suspect, armed with a black semi-automatic handgun, forced the pair to the ground and interrogated them about graffiti spray-painted on his fence, Hoffmeister said.

The victims told police that the suspect pressed the gun to the back of each of their heads. They said he smelled and talked as if he was intoxicated and spoke with what sounded like a Russian accent, police said. The suspect got back into his car and drove away after questioning the two.

The suspect is described as white, in his 40s, with black hair and a beard. He was wearing a plaid jacket. He was driving a bluish-silver Nissan sedan with unknown plates.

News - StatesmanJournal.com

Oct-29-2007

Salem Man Arrested for Menacing Skateboarders with Handgun

The man is charged with two counts of Menacing, two counts of Unlawful Use of a Weapon, and two counts of Coercion. A pistol was also seized as evidence.

handcuffs
Salem-News.com

(SALEM, Ore.) - Salem Police arrested the man they say is responsible for the menacing of two skateboarders last Friday just before 10:00 PM in south Salem.

Lt. Steve Birr with Salem Police says investigators received a tip that 44-year old Mikhail Kotenko was the suspect they were looking for, wanted in connection with an incident last Friday during which two skateboarders were threatened by a man with a handgun.

Birr says officers went to Kotenko's south Salem home Sunday around 1:20 PM, after receiving a tip from a citizen that he matched the description reported in the news. Following a brief investigation, he was taken into custody and transported to the Marion County jail.

Birr says the incident began late Friday night when a Stayton man and his Mt. Angel companion were skateboarding in south Salem. They told police they were stopped and confronted by a man armed with a handgun.

The skaters allege that the man had forced them to lay on the ground, and while holding the weapon to the backs of their heads, interrogated them about some graffiti that had been spray painted on his fence.

"Neither of the victims knew the suspect," Birr added. "After terrorizing the two, the suspect had gotten back into his vehicle, described as a bluish silver Nissan type vehicle, and drove away."

Birr says Kotenko was charged with two counts of Menacing, two counts of Unlawful Use of a Weapon, and two counts of Coercion. A pistol was also seized as evidence.

salem man arrested for menacing‏ skateboarders with handgun

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