Portland Man Gets 7.5 Years for TriMet Beating Over Smoking Dispute

A dispute over a lit cigarette on a Portland bus ended with a rider suffering a brain bleed, a broken nose, an orbital fracture, and fingernails that officers said appeared to have been stomped off. On Tuesday, one of the three men involved, Audric Yesiki, was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison for his role in the beating, matching the same term handed to co-defendant Rinson Tom earlier this year.

The attack unfolded on October 15, 2025, when Greffy Tom, Rinson Tom, and Yesiki tried to board TriMet Bus No. 77 at Southeast Stark Street and 142nd Avenue in Portland, according to The Oregonian/OregonLive. One of the men was smoking on the bus, and the driver told the group they could not smoke aboard the vehicle, a rule TriMet enforces under Code Chapters 28 and 29, which bar smoking or vaping on transit vehicles and allow fines up to $250 or system exclusions, per TriMet.

As the standoff dragged on, another rider yelled that he was going to be late for work and tried to usher the men off the bus so it could depart, according to the same account. That intervention, according to KGW, was what set off the confrontation, as the 50-year-old passenger left his seat to confront the men and push them off the bus after their smoking dispute with the driver had already delayed his commute.

A Beating That Lasted Nearly Ten Minutes

Greffy Tom, Rinson Tom, and Yesiki punched the rider until he fell, then kicked him in the face and head, court records show. Yesiki used his own shoes as a weapon during the assault. Responding officers later reported that the victim's eye was swollen shut and bleeding, and that he was missing fingernails that appeared to have been stomped off.

At an October 31, 2025 bail hearing, prosecutors showed onboard bus video depicting what they described as a brutal three-on-one beatdown lasting nearly ten minutes that nearly killed the victim, KGW reported in a separate account. A Multnomah County Circuit Court judge responded by ordering Yesiki and Greffy Tom held without bail, though defense attorneys had sought conditional release ahead of trial.

The rider suffered a broken nose, an orbital fracture, and a brain bleed from the attack. A Multnomah County Grand Jury had indicted all three men on October 24, 2025, on charges including second-degree attempted murder, with Rinson facing 15 felony counts, Yesiki 13 (including two counts of strangulation), and Greffy 11 counts, according to the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office.

Guilty Pleas and Sentencing

Those initial charges were ultimately resolved through plea agreements well below the original attempted-murder counts. Rinson Tom pleaded guilty to first-degree assault and was sentenced in April to seven-and-a-half years in prison, the mandatory minimum under Oregon's Ballot Measure 11, which requires a 90-month prison term for first-degree assault convictions with no eligibility for sentence reductions or early release, according to the Polk County District Attorney's Office.

Yesiki, a 34-year-old Portland resident, pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon and received the same seven-and-a-half-year sentence. Judge Christopher Marshall granted Yesiki eligibility to seek alcoholism treatment through the state's Alternative Incarceration Program, though that eligibility does not guarantee he will actually be admitted into or complete the program. Under Oregon Department of Corrections rules and ORS 421.508, the program is an intensive 270-day addiction and cognitive treatment track requiring 14 hours of daily structured activity, with up to 90 days of transitional non-prison leave possible if approved by the sentencing court, per the Oregon Secretary of State Administrative Rules.

Following his arrest, Yesiki told investigators that the confrontation began when the passenger approached the group, but he admitted that part of the fight had been their fault because they had been drinking. Prosecutor Sean Hughey said alcohol played a role in the attack. Charges against Greffy Tom, the brother of Rinson Tom, remain pending.

DA Vows Strict Prosecution of Transit Violence

Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez issued a public statement in October emphasizing that TriMet provides a vital public service and that his office would strictly prosecute people who commit egregious acts of violence on public transit, according to a Multnomah County District Attorney's Office release. TriMet directly funds two Deputy District Attorneys dedicated to prosecuting crimes against transit passengers, staff, and facilities.

The case adds to a string of violent incidents that have shaken confidence in Portland's transit system, including a fatal TriMet bus shooting and a MAX train stabbing that Hoodline has previously covered. In TriMet's 2024 Attitude and Awareness Survey of more than 4,000 area residents, roughly half of bus riders expressed concern for their personal safety, with 82% of those concerned citing other passengers' behavior as the primary cause, according to OregonLive, a sharp rise from 34% in 2018.