Man says suspect attacked him with scissors, teeth, yelled racial slurs in Old Town Portland

By Paulina Aguilar and FOX 12 Staff

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    PORTLAND, Oregon (KPTV) — A man faces assault and bias crime charges after a “disturbance” in Old Town Portland on Saturday, according to the Portland Police Bureau.

Shortly before 2 p.m., firefighters responded to a report of a fire in the area of Northwest Sixth Avenue and Northwest Glisan Street after people said a man had lit some clothing on fire. He was identified as 42-year-old Corey A. Nesenson of Portland.

While crews with Portland Fire & Rescue were at the scene, police said they saw Nesenson attack a bystander with a pair of scissors, cutting him, and biting him while calling him racial slurs.

Payton Thomas, the bystander, told FOX 12 on Sunday that he was minding his own business and talking with a friend when Nesenson allegedly walked toward him, yelling the “N-word.”

“I’m like ‘man, this dude’s coming towards us for real,’ and he had a look on his face. He was intent on doing something,” Thomas said. “He got so close to me till I didn’t have a chance to punch him to keep him off me. The only thing I could do is snatch him and took him to the ground. While I’m on top of him, I guess that’s when he cut me – but I felt him bite me, but I didn’t really pay too much attention because at that time I saw the scissors.”

Thomas said he and Nesenson wrestled on the ground for a few seconds before police arrived.

“I was concentrating on the scissors. I didn’t want to be stabbed that’s all there is to it,” Thomas said. “At that time the police pulled up, when they pulled up the guy started saying ‘let me go’ and I’m like ‘no, you let me go and I’ll let you go.’”

Police said they arrested Nesenson, who also allegedly spit on officers during the arrest.

After Nesenson’s arrest, Thomas said he realized he was bleeding.

“I touch my ear,” Thomas said. “It was a dab of blood. I didn’t know that he had cut me all the way down the back of my ear.”

Detectives also believe that just before the scissor attack, Nesenson allegedly chased after a bi-racial couple and called them racial slurs. That couple has not been found by police, and detectives are asking them to come forward.

“People just don’t – they pretend though it doesn’t exist until it happens to them and it’s happening to me and I feel some kind of way,” Thomas said.

Thomas said he has a couple of check-ups for his injuries but he’s ready to go back to work Tuesday.

Nesenson was booked on charges of second and fourth-degree assault, first-degree bias crime, aggravated harassment and reckless burning. He is due to appear in court Monday.

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