A Salem teenager used a power grinder to fight off an intruder who was trying to bite off the boy's and the boy's father's fingers, and poke them with a screwdriver and torch on Wednesday, Sept. 7, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office.

Both victims sustained bites and bruises.

Mario Vega-Navarro

Around 6 p.m., deputies responded to a call about a man entering a house in the 3700 block of State Street SE and fighting with a male occupant trying to remove him.

The first officer to arrive on the scene found the owner of the home and his 14-year-old son holding down Mario Vega-Navarro, 25, of Salem. The deputy called for back up after Vega-Navarro resisted being detained. Two additional deputies arrived and they put Vega-Navarro flat on the ground.

Authorities said Vega-Navarro then tried to bite the three deputies before he was placed in handcuffs. Paramedics medically sedated Vega-Navarro before he was transported to the Salem Hospital. After he was released, he was booked into the Marion County Jail on charges of burglary, assault and resisting arrest, according to the sheriff.

Deputies suspected Vega-Navarro was under the influence of a narcotic, possibly mind-altering bath salts.



- Janet Eastman



