A Portland-area man has been sentenced to 21 years in state prison for fatally stabbing a man who had let him sleep in an RV in Gresham's Rockwood neighborhood. William J. Huffman, 39, admitted to charges tied to the March 27, 2025, killing of 53-year-old Thomas "Tommy" Ferrer, after prosecutors said Huffman attacked Ferrer and another person while insisting he was the target of a kidnapping plot, a story he later told investigators was the product of a hallucination.
Plea and sentence
According to The Oregonian/OregonLive, Huffman pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and attempted assault under a plea agreement and was sentenced on April 2. Court filings show the deal includes a provision that could trim the term through good-time credits during the final decade of his sentence, although the bulk of the 21-year punishment is locked in.
Hallucinations and courtroom words
Court documents state Huffman told police he had smoked methamphetamine the day of the attack and was hallucinating a scheme in which Ferrer and Ferrer's fiancée, Melissa Nichols, were keeping him from his wife. The probable-cause affidavit says he "hallucinated that Ferrer and Melissa Nichols were keeping him from his wife as part of a kidnapping plot," according to The Oregonian/OregonLive. In court, Judge Benjamin Souede underscored the impact of the killing, telling those present that "Mr. Ferrer didn't deserve what happened to him."
How police say the attack unfolded
Investigators with Gresham police say Ferrer and his fiancée had invited Huffman to stay with them in an RV parked off Northeast Glisan Street. Officers later found Ferrer suffering from fatal stab wounds near Northeast 201st Avenue. The East County Major Crimes Team concluded Huffman stabbed Ferrer to death and tried to assault another person, and initial reports listed charges of second-degree murder, second-degree attempted assault and unlawful use of a weapon, according to a Gresham Police Department news release.
Family and earlier coverage
In the days after the killing, Ferrer's family shared his photo with investigators and stayed in contact with police throughout the year-long investigation. Hoodline provided early neighborhood coverage when Huffman was first taken into custody in March 2025; see its report on the Gresham homicide arrest for background on the original detention and charges.
What comes next
With Huffman's plea entered and his 21-year sentence imposed, the case now shifts to the Oregon Department of Corrections for classification and prison placement. The plea agreement sidestepped what would likely have been a lengthy trial and formally closes a year-long investigation into the fatal Rockwood stabbing.
