A Portland man who stepped out of an idling car at a Taco Bell drive-thru and repeatedly stabbed one of the restaurant’s employees as they stood outside was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison.

Multnomah County prosecutors called the random attack by Jordan Douglas Powell-Mathewson “exceptionally violent and senseless” after he pleaded guilty in court to one count second-degree assault.

“It was only by sheer luck that the victim’s shirt and uniform prevented him from suffering more serious and life-threatening stab wounds,” said Nicole Hermann, a deputy district attorney.

The employee, Sydney Koerner, was taking a cigarette break outside the fast-food chain on Northeast Weidler Street near Seventh Avenue on Aug. 30 when a stranger approached him from a car at the drive-thru, according to court records and prosecutors.

Jordan Douglas Powell-Mathewson

The man, identified as Powell-Mathewson, started stabbing Koerner with a knife, puncturing his chest and arm, prosecutors said.

Afterward, Powell-Mathewson returned to the car at the drive-thru, court documents show. He was seated in the passenger seat with the bloody knife when police arrived and arrested him.

Koerner was taken to a hospital, but he did not require surgery, prosecutors said.

“This has been one of the worst things to ever happen to me,” Koerner wrote in a statement read during the sentencing. “Prior to this event, I was getting my life back on track from previous traumatic events.”

-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh; 503-294-7632

Email at skavanaugh@oregonian.com

Follow on Twitter @shanedkavanaugh

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