Portland saw a legal first this week when Nicholas Clay Birdsley became the inaugural individual to plead guilty under a new provision of Oregon's Interfering with Public Transportation law. The Multnomah County District Attorney's Office reported that on Thursday, Birdsley admitted to a pair of charges related to incidents on the Portland Streetcar. This case marks a new step in the enforcement of Senate Bill 1553, which was passed by the Oregon Legislature and began to be effective as of January 1.
Details provided by the District Attorney's Office indicate that Birdsley pled guilty to trespassing on January 19, and on February 24, he was caught once again, this time explicitly for using drugs on board the transit system. The legislation aims to clearly forbid and sanction the consumption of controlled substances on public transportation, as an addition to the pre-existing offense of Interfering with Public Transportation, which now is categorized as a Class A misdemeanor.
As part of a plea agreement, a third count of trespass was dismissed. Multnomah County Judge Chanpone Sinlapasai presided over the plea and subsequently delivered the sentence, which involved 12 months of bench probation, 10 days of jail time credited for time already served, a compulsory drug evaluation, and the adherence to any recommended treatment plans as well as any exclusions from utilizing the Portland Streetcar services, as noted by the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office.
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