A 48-year-old Portland man is being held without bail after prosecutors say he stabbed a downtown minimart employee while stealing a carton of cigarettes, leaving the worker with a wound that required five staples to close. Randy Allen Hall now faces first-degree robbery, second-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon, and menacing charges stemming from the confrontation.
According to court documents cited by KATU, Hall walked into Pete's Market without a shirt on, and an employee asked him to put one on. He then grabbed a carton of cigarettes and headed for the door. The store's manager told investigators he heard an employee screaming and saw Hall attacking him with a knife, the outlet reports.
Another person inside the store tried to stop Hall from leaving by kicking him, according to the same court records. The employee later told police he heard someone shout “knife knife knife” before Hall stabbed him in the left arm. The worker said he did not immediately realize he had been cut until he noticed blood running down his arm.
Surveillance Video Backs Up Employee's Account
Police reviewed surveillance footage from inside the store that showed Hall stealing the cigarettes, pulling out a knife, and stabbing the employee, per the court filings referenced by the station's report. Hall then left the market before officers found and arrested him near Southwest 3rd Avenue and Salmon Street. He dropped the knife while being detained, the documents state.
Investigators later interviewed the injured employee at Legacy Emanuel Hospital, where his wound was closed with five staples. Pete's Market operates around the clock on Fourth Avenue in downtown Portland, according to Atly.
Long Criminal History Cited in Court
Court records show Hall has an extensive criminal history dating back to 1997 in Arizona, including convictions for assault with a deadly weapon, disorderly conduct, DUII, reckless endangering, second-degree burglary, and felon in possession of a firearm, per the same account cited by the station. A judge granted prosecutors' request to hold Hall without bail until a preventative detention hearing, and he is due back in court on October 5.
Oregon law sets a high bar before a judge can deny bail. Under ORS 135.240(4), prosecutors seeking to hold a violent felony defendant without bail must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the accused poses a danger of physical injury to the victim or the public, according to Hoodline.
What Hall Could Face If Convicted
Both of the felony charges against Hall carry mandatory minimum prison terms under Oregon's Ballot Measure 11. First-degree robbery is a Class A felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $375,000, and a conviction triggers a non-negotiable mandatory minimum of 90 months in state prison with no eligibility for early release, according to Tullos Law.
Second-degree assault, a Class B felony carrying up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, also qualifies as a Measure 11 offense. First-degree robbery carries a mandatory minimum upon conviction. Hall also faces unlawful use of a weapon, a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $125,000 fine under Oregon law, along with a menacing charge, a Class A misdemeanor carrying up to 364 days in jail and a fine of up to $6,250.
Another Recent Store-Theft Case
The case echoes another recent Portland incident: in late August, police arrested a 57-year-old man held without bail on first-degree robbery, weapon, and bias crime charges after he allegedly threatened a vintage store owner with a knife during an attempted theft, Hoodline previously reported on a knife threat case. Both cases involved suspects pulling knives during store thefts and facing Measure 11 robbery charges.
The two cases involved alleged knife threats or violence during store thefts, one in downtown Portland and the other in Sellwood.
It remains unclear whether Hall has secured public defense counsel ahead of his October 5 hearing, and the employee's current medical condition has not been publicly detailed beyond the five staples used to close his wound.
