Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt today announced that Gregory Phillip Porter, 65, has pled guilty to two counts of Attempted Murder in the First Degree and was found to be guilty except for insanity on a third count of Attempted Murder in the First Degree. The result is a 20-year commitment to the Psychiatric Security Review Board (PSRB) and a concurrent 15-year prison sentence.
In May 2018, Porter ran over multiple pedestrians while driving in the area of SW 6th Avenue and SW Hall Street near Portland State University. Witnesses reported observing Porter drive his vehicle onto the sidewalk. He struck one female victim and continued driving, subsequently hitting two additional female victims. Witnesses also reported that Porter attempted to hit a group of males but was thwarted by a MAX train. All three victims sustained serious physical injuries, some of which were life threatening.
After Porter was arrested, a Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge ordered that he be sent to the Oregon State Hospital (OSH) based on a psychological evaluation put forward by his attorneys. Porter was in and out of OSH throughout the case and was found competent to proceed to trial in April of 2022.
As a result of today’s hearing, Porter will be transported to OSH under the jurisdiction of the PSRB. Should Porter be released from OSH for any reason, he will be transported to the Department of Corrections to serve out the remainder of his sentence.
Multnomah County Senior Deputy District Attorney Melissa Marrero prosecuted this case, and Julie Jacobs was the assigned Victim Advocate.
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office thanks the Portland Police Bureau and the Portland State University Police for their work on this case.
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