Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt today announced that a grand jury indicted Ana Karen Perez-Velador, 28, on eight charges relating to a recent assault of a TriMet bus driver. Deputy District Attorney Julian Samuels is the prosecutor assigned to this case.
On Monday, March 13, officers from Transit Police (TPD) and Portland Police responded to the area near NE 27th Avenue and Saratoga Street. The bus driver reported that, after being stabbed by Perez-Velador in the leg, they extricated themselves through the driver’s side window as Perez-Velador continued to thrust the knife at the driver multiple times. Police officers located Perez-Velador and a male acquaintance, 26-year-old Cody Christopher Richardson, nearby and took them into custody.
During the investigation, officers learned the bus driver, who was sitting in the driver’s seat, asked Perez-Velador and Richardson to exit the bus because it had reached the line’s terminus. Perez-Velador then confronted the driver and pulled out a knife, stabbing the driver in the leg. The bus driver and two suspects were the only people onboard at the time of the incident.
The bus driver was treated at a local hospital for the leg injury and released.
Perez-Velador was indicted by a grand jury today on eight charges:
- Attempted Murder in the Second Degree
- Assault in the Second Degree
- Unlawful Use of a Weapon
- Coercion
- Criminal Mischief in the First Degree
- Theft in the Third Degree
- Interfering with Public Transportation
- Menacing
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office thanks Transit Police and PPB for their assistance with this case.
A charging instrument is only an accusation of a crime. Perez-Velador is innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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