On September 30, 2022, a Washington County jury found Marcus Esa Paul, age 25, guilty of all charges following a four-day trial.  Mr. Paul was convicted of Kidnapping in the Second Degree, three counts of Criminal Mistreatment in the First Degree and Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle. 

The incident began at 6:30 AM on Wednesday, July 27, 2022, in the city of Tualatin.  The victim’s father was picking up a dog at Oregon Dog Rescue on SW Nyberg Rd.  As he stood near his minivan, Mr. Paul jumped inside the vehicle and drove away.  The victim’s 9-month-old son was in a car seat in the van.  Mr. Paul sped away, eventually onto Interstate 205.  He exited the freeway in Oregon City and looked for a place to leave the child.  He found a relatively remote section of a residential area and abandoned the baby on the ground behind a guardrail, near the edge of a steep slope.  He then continued northbound on I-205, as police tracked him using cell phone technology.  Mr. Paul left the minivan at a location off NE Prescott St. known by police for stolen car transactions and fled on foot across rush-hour traffic on the I-205 freeway.  He attempted to hide underneath several bags of another person’s belongings on the Parkrose MAX platform, but he was soon apprehended by pursuing Portland and Tualatin Police officers.

A citizen who had been walking her dog in Oregon City found the infant in the brush and called 911. The child was uninjured.

This investigation was a collaboration between the Tualatin Police, the Portland Police Bureau, and the Oregon City Police Department.  The DA’s office would like to acknowledge the excellent work by all agencies.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 5, 2022 at 1:15 pm before Judge Oscar Garcia.