PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN 6) – A 44-year-old man reportedly yelled out “I confess” when police took him into custody after he was arrested for trying to steal equipment belonging to Portland Fire & Rescue, according to court documents.
Paris Lamonte Collins remains in the Multnomah County Detention Center. He was arrested on September 4 on a warrant stemming from a grand jury indictment.
According to court records, back in July, Collins showed up at Portland Fire & Rescue Station No. 1 at 55 Southwest Ash Street and started asking questions about the fire station. Collins was given a short tour by a firefighter. A short time after the tour ended, a separate firefighter walked over to a fire truck and found Collins attaching a fire ax to the “large duty belt” he was wearing.
The firefighter also noticed that Collins had a fire radio in his belt, according to an affidavit. Portland Fire spokesperson Lt. Rich Tyler tells KOIN 6 News investigators believe the radio had been stolen several days earlier. The value of the Motorola APX 6000 P25 with a remote speaker microphone was valued at $4,200, according to court documents and Tyler.
A box cutter was also found in the duty belt Collins was wearing. The knife had a “RH10” sticker on it. Tyler said “RH10” stands for “Rehab 10,” which is an apparatus housed at Station 10, located at 451 SW Taylors Ferry Road.
The radio had been damaged with red writing. Officers found a red marker at the time of the arrest. Eventually, Collins, who has a history of mental illness, according to Tyler, confessed, court documents state.
Collins is scheduled to be arraigned on the grand jury indictment on Tuesday morning.
Filed under: Crime, Local News, Multnomah County, News, Oregon, Portland Tagged: Brent Weisberg
