Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt announced today that a Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge sentenced Timothy Deshawn Harris, 29, to 388 months in prison after a jury found him guilty of six charges:
- One count of Sodomy in the First Degree
- One count of Kidnap in the First Degree
- One count of Attempted Rape in the First Degree
- Two counts of Assault in the Second Degree
- One count of Unlawful Use of a Weapon
In the early morning of July 5, 2016, Harris approached a woman who was walking downtown – and who he had never met before – at gunpoint. He grabbed her by the arm and directed her to a nearby parking lot for the purpose of sexually assaulting her. During the attack, Harris also struck the victim in the head and cut her throat with a sharp object. In attempting to defend herself, the victim was able to run away and found someone nearby who helped her and called 911.
Multiple patrol officers and detectives from the Portland Police Bureau’s Central Precinct and a victim advocate with the PPB Sex Crimes Unit responded to the crime scene and to the hospital where the victim was transported. Law enforcement attempted to locate Harris, but he left the area before police arrived. Male DNA was obtained from the victim at the hospital, but there was no match in the DNA database. It was not until January 8, 2020, that police identified Harris as the suspect when he was arrested (and later convicted) for a charge of Rape in the First Degree out of Washington state. In that case, his DNA was entered into the database, and police identified him as the suspect in the Oregon case based on a DNA match.
Deputy District Attorney Quinn Zemel prosecuted this case, which went to trial April 17-20, 2023. A 12-person jury delivered a guilty verdict on April 20, and Judge Jenna Plank imposed the 388-month prison sentence yesterday. Harris is currently in custody in Multnomah County.
The DA’s Office thanks PPB for their assistance with this case.
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