Still no arrests or charges made in the Nov. 4 assault that left a 'graphic, bloody, gruesome and gory' scene

Details about a gruesome assault on two people last November at a home near Sheldon High School have come to light in new court filings released this week.

A search warrant affidavit filed Nov. 14, but not made publicly available until Wednesday morning, named five people, including the two victims, as being involved in some aspect of the incident. No charges have yet been filed. The search warrant allowed police to search two vehicles, two residences, as well as collect fingerprints, palm prints and shoe prints from the five people to see if the prints match to the crime scene.

One man named in the search warrant specifically is believed to be in possession of personal evidence for crimes of first-, second- and fourth-degree assault as well as tampering with physical evidence. The Register-Guard is not releasing his name because he has not yet been arrested or charged.

The case is being reviewed by the Lane County District Attorney's Office, District Attorney Patty Perlow said Wednesday.

The male and female victims, who were both severely injured in the incident, survived.

According to the affidavit that accompanied the search warrant, Eugene police were called at 1:51 a.m. Nov. 4 to a report of an assault in the 2500 block of Jeppesen Acres Road. Officers arrived to find a 32-year-old Eugene man wearing tactical gear, including a bulletproof vest and a firearm, at the front door. The man yelled out "private security" several times during the police interaction, the affidavit states.

The man told police he was an armed security guard and that he had received a call from the male victim requesting help. After driving 30 to 40 minutes to reach the Jeppesen Acres house, the man discovered the bloody scene and went to seek help from a neighbor. The neighbor's wife called 911.

The officers placed the man in custody and then entered the home to find what is described in the affidavit as a "graphic, bloody, gruesome and gory" scene. There was blood on almost every surface in the residence, the affidavit states. The security guard was eventually released from custody without charges.

The 34-year-old male victim, who was a resident of the house, was semi-conscious with numerous wounds when he was found by authorities on the kitchen floor. The affidavit states he had multiple cuts on his body including a significant laceration on one of his arms that required a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. The female victim, 36, who also was a resident of the house, was found unconscious in a bedroom and appeared to have significant head trauma and a number of broken bones, the affidavit states. Medics at the scene reported her breathing was slight and her pulse was fading, the affidavit states.

Both victims were taken to Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in Springfield and underwent emergency surgery because of the seriousness of their injuries, the affidavit states.

Police began investigating the scene, which included broken and blood-streaked items throughout the house.

Three safes were located inside the home — two of which had been emptied, including one that was built to store a handgun. The gun was gone, the affidavit states.

"The open safe in the garage had clear blood trails to and from the safe, and physical evidence appears as though it was manipulated by someone with a bloody injury to the right part of their body as blood was smeared on, in and around the safe," the affidavit states. Police later learned that before they arrived the security guard had two stacks of U.S. currency that appeared to be $50 bills and a small object that appeared to be a handgun in his possession.

From her hospital bed, the woman told police she and the male victim had eaten psychedelic mushrooms on a pizza, and she did not remember any of the violence or trauma. A jar of mushrooms and a slice of pizza with mushrooms on it were found inside the home. Several jars of marijuana also were discovered inside the home.

Police discovered that a number of security cameras inside the home had been removed, as well as a DVR in the garage that records all of the camera footage, leaving only a cord hanging from the rafters. That area also was covered in blood, including a ladder that led up to the DVR, the affidavit states.

In the presence of a lawyer, the security guard later agreed to give a statement to police in which he said he arrived at the scene with his wife after receiving the victim's call. After seeing the bloody scene, the security guard said he told his wife to leave. She never went inside the home, he told police.

However, when the wife was interviewed by police over the phone, she said she did go inside the home because she is an emergency room nurse and checked the pulse of the female victim. She described the scene as more traumatic than an emergency room, the affidavit states. She went outside after the neighbor arrived and was eventually told to leave by her husband, according to the affidavit. She left the area in the vehicle the couple had arrived in.

But neighborhood cameras and witnesses told police there were two cars that left the scene before police arrived. The cameras captured the wife leaving, but also captured a sedan departing at the same time, the affidavit states. While no other person was mentioned by the security guard or his wife, that car has since been located and is one of the vehicles identified in the search warrant. Another search warrant served in the case reviewed the security guard's phone and showed the security guard had communicated with the driver of the sedan on the night of the incident, around the same time he allegedly received a call from the male victim.

Follow Chelsea Deffenbacher on Twitter @ChelseaDeffenB. Email chelsea.deffenbacher@registerguard.com.



