Residents in the 8800 block of Southeast Rockvorst Street called for help around midnight Friday after a man began pounding on doors, yelling, and throwing rocks through their windows. By the time officers arrived, the suspect had already fled into a nearby greenspace — but a thermal camera-equipped drone found him hiding in a wooded area a short time later.
Homeowners Retreated Inside as Windows Shattered
According to the City of Milwaukie, the initial call came in around midnight, with residents reporting a man aggressively banging on doors and shouting while holding a tool or weapon before he began throwing rocks through the home's windows. The homeowners, who did not know the suspect, retreated further inside their residence for safety while waiting for officers to respond, per the same city account.
As reported by KOIN.com, the suspect broke several windows at the Ardenwald neighborhood home before fleeing toward a nearby greenspace. Officers reviewed surveillance footage from the residence, which provided a description of the man and helped them establish a perimeter in his last known direction. The Milwaukie Police Department said the footage was key to quickly resolving the incident, the station notes.
Drone Locates Suspect in Nearby Woods
A thermal camera-equipped drone helped officers locate the suspect, identified as Jason M. Treichler, in a nearby wooded area, the outlet reports. Treichler was arrested and charged with first-degree criminal mischief before being lodged at the Clackamas County Jail. Police say he caused more than $2,000 in damage to the residence.
Under Oregon Revised Statutes § 164.365, Criminal Mischief in the First Degree is a Class C felony, and it applies once intentional property destruction exceeds $1,000, according to FindLaw. Open questions remain about what prompted the outburst, including Treichler's underlying motives and whether the Clackamas County District Attorney's office will file additional charges such as criminal trespass or menacing.
Suspect Had Prior Run-In With Milwaukie Police in April
This was not Treichler's first documented encounter with Milwaukie police. Back in April, he reported a suspicious vehicle to officers, but after one attempted to arrest him on an outstanding warrant, Treichler fled onto nearby railroad tracks, according to the City of Milwaukie. Officers deployed a drone to track his movements before booking him for escape and methamphetamine possession, the city says, and the incident disrupted railroad traffic until he was safely contained.
Milwaukie's Drone Unit Has Used Thermal Equipment
Friday's arrest follows other documented uses of thermal-equipped drones by the department. In February, officers used a thermal drone to track an injured person who had crawled deep into dense brush after dark, successfully guiding medical responders to the scene once darkness and thick vegetation made a foot search impractical, per the city's account. The department's small Unmanned Aircraft Systems program operates under Oregon Revised Statutes 837.300 through 837.360 and FAA Part 107 rules, which bar officers from intentionally recording areas where people have a reasonable expectation of privacy without a warrant, consent, or exigent circumstances, the city notes.
Milwaukie's drone unit has also lent aerial support to neighboring agencies. In April 2024, a Milwaukie thermal drone guided a Lake Oswego Police K-9 unit to two stolen vehicle suspects who were hiding under a furniture cover and an outdoor deck tarp in residential backyards, according to the City of Lake Oswego. Public safety records from the Atlas of Surveillance show Milwaukie had three active drones registered with the Oregon Department of Aviation as of 2024.
Police Urge Homeowners to Add Cameras and Lighting
Following the incident, the Milwaukie Police Department issued a public safety advisory encouraging homeowners to install fixed or motion-activated lighting alongside web-based security cameras aimed at property entry points and other sensitive areas. Officers credited home surveillance footage with helping them quickly identify the suspect and set up a search perimeter, underscoring how residential cameras are increasingly shaping how these cases get resolved.
