A Portland man accused of stabbing a 77-year-old inside a Safeway bathroom near Southeast 122nd Avenue and Powell Boulevard is scheduled for trial, with jurors set to weigh four charges — first-degree assault, first-degree robbery and two counts of aggravated murder — against a defendant who has served prison time for a strikingly similar attack. Christopher Woods, 51, pleaded not guilty on January 12, and his trial is set to begin Monday at 9 a.m.
According to KOIN.com, Woods is accused of stabbing the 77-year-old man inside the Safeway restroom on New Year's Day, and authorities say the two did not know each other. The victim survived the attack. Portland Police Bureau said the 77-year-old was rushed by ambulance to a Portland hospital with severe knife injuries that medical staff later determined were non-life-threatening, according to the Portland Police Bureau.
A Grocery Store Turned Crime Scene
The stabbing unfolded inside a restroom at the Safeway located in the 3500 block of SE 122nd Avenue, prompting employees to usher responding officers into the building while temporarily turning away shoppers and closing the store, per East PDX News. Officers tracked down and arrested Woods at SE 119th Avenue and SE Division Street at 11:40 a.m. that same day, roughly an hour and a half after the assault, aided by witness descriptions and TriMet security personnel, the police bureau's statement noted.
Witnesses and store security effectively helped point officers toward Woods before his capture, the same police account indicates. He now faces four charges, including two counts of aggravated murder, stemming from the incident.
A Prior Conviction for a Similar Attack
A Prior Conviction for a Similar Attack Court and news records show this is not Woods's first violent encounter with a stranger. In 2017, he pleaded no contest to attempted assault and unlawful use of a weapon and received five years in prison, according to KGW.
During a 2017 attack near Holladay Park, Woods stabbed a woman multiple times, KGW reported. Both the prior case and the Safeway case involve allegations that Woods stabbed another person.
What Measure 11 Means for the Case
What Measure 11 Means for the Case The stakes in the current trial are steep because Woods faces multiple felony charges.
Woods faces first-degree assault and first-degree robbery charges, as well as two counts of aggravated murder. The case remains pending before the jury.
A Neighborhood Already Under Scrutiny
The Safeway sits in outer East Portland's Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood. The stabbing also fell within the Portland Police Bureau's East Precinct.
The Safeway attack occurred along an outer East Portland corridor near SE 122nd Avenue.
With Woods's trial scheduled to begin, the case remains pending, with no verdict yet reached.
