A 57-year-old man is being held without bail after police say he pulled a knife and hurled a racial slur at the owner of a Sellwood vintage clothing shop while trying to steal merchandise from an outdoor rack. Richard Lynn Spencer now faces four charges, including a first-degree bias crime, stemming from the confrontation at Sellwood Union on SE 13th Avenue.
According to court documents cited by KATU, police responded to a reported shoplifting incident at the store on August 27. Investigators say Spencer attempted to take shirts from an outdoor rack at Sellwood Union before threatening the store owner with a knife and yelling the n-word at him. Police video reportedly showed Spencer pulling out the knife and threatening the owner during the confrontation.
When questioned by police, Spencer denied knowing anything about what happened at Sellwood Union, per the same court records. He was arraigned on September 18 and charged with first-degree robbery, unlawful use of a weapon, first-degree bias crime, and menacing.
A Mandatory Prison Term Looms Over the Robbery Charge
The first-degree robbery charge carries the heaviest exposure by far. Under Oregon law, First-Degree Robbery under ORS 164.415 is a Class A felony subject to Measure 11, the 1994 voter-approved law that mandates a prison sentence without good-time reductions upon conviction.
The bias crime charge is brought under Oregon Revised Statute 166.165. The weapon charge also carries penalties: under ORS 166.220, possessing or carrying a dangerous weapon with intent to use it unlawfully against another person is also a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison, per Powell Law P.C.
Spencer Is Being Held Without Bail
Spencer is being held without bail and awaits a preventive detention hearing, set for September 28.
Court records and a LexisNexis review show Spencer has at least three prior convictions in West Virginia and a misdemeanor public intoxication conviction in Indiana. It remains to be seen what evidence prosecutors will present at next week's hearing to argue for continued detention.
Oregon's Bias Crime Law and Statewide Trends
Oregon's modern bias crime statute traces back to Senate Bill 577, passed by the Legislature in 2019, which replaced former “intimidation” statutes with designated bias crimes and established the statewide Oregon Department of Justice Bias Response Hotline to track incidents and assist victims, according to the state agency's own account of the law's history.
Statewide data shows race-based targeting remains the most common category of reported bias incidents. The Oregon DOJ's 2024 Bias Crimes Annual Report, released in July 2025, found 1,216 race-based reports, the largest single category, as hate-and-bias reports dropped 7% year-over-year while overall hotline contacts increased, according to the Oregon Department of Justice. Locally, the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office has grant-funded bias-crimes positions, per the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office.
A Neighborhood Shop on SE 13th Avenue
Sellwood Union operates as a curated vintage clothing marketplace at 8017 SE 13th Avenue, housing a collective of 18 independent local vendors along the neighborhood's commercial corridor, according to The Mossy Log.
Spencer's next court appearance is scheduled for September 28.
