In Portland, a man has been taken into custody twice within the span of a week for allegedly committing two separate unprovoked assaults. One of these incidents involved an attack on a 69-year-old woman, which reportedly occurred shortly after he was released from jail following the first arrest, as stated by police.
The initial incident took place on the morning of November 25, 2025, when a 21-year-old man claimed he was unexpectedly punched in the face by an unknown assailant.
Authorities apprehended 24-year-old Santos Puerto-Rios, booking him into the Multnomah County Detention Center on charges of fourth-degree assault. He was subsequently released from custody.
In the days following, investigators became aware of another alleged attack that had occurred on the same day.
The Portland Police Department detained the suspect, believed to be responsible for the unprovoked assaults on both the 21-year-old man and a 69-year-old woman during that week. (Portland Police Department)
On November 28, the family of the 69-year-old woman reached out to the police, reporting that she had been assaulted outside her residence on November 25. According to police reports, the assailant approached her, struck without warning, and then fled the scene.
Detectives later identified Puerto-Rios as the suspect. Police did not provide details about the woman’s condition.
The woman’s granddaughter posted about the assault on social media in the days that followed, asking the public for help identifying the attacker.
“NEED HELP IDENTIFYING THIS MAN. He hit my grandma for no reason and ran off. She now has deep bruises from the fall,” she wrote in her original post.
Puerto-Rios was located and arrested again Dec. 2, once more on a fourth-degree assault charge. Police said additional charges may be considered and that both attacks appear to have been random.
After the second arrest, the granddaughter shared an update thanking the community.
Portland Police announced the arrest of a suspect linked to two unprovoked attacks minutes apart. (Facebook)
“To everyone that was following the story of my grandma getting assaulted by that random man…the police arrested him today! One week later! We came to find out that he assaulted another man that day. Thank you everyone for all your support and help!!”
The case has renewed scrutiny of Multnomah County’s release practices and raised questions about why Puerto-Rios was freed after the first arrest.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez said his office had attempted to keep Puerto-Rios in custody, noting prosecutors filed a probable cause affidavit asking that he remain jailed until a judge could review the case. Puerto-Rios, however, was released before any judge saw the request.
“This is an infuriating example of a gap in Oregon law,” Vasquez said, calling the release a missed opportunity to prevent further harm. He added that Puerto-Rios later failed to appear for a scheduled court date, disrupting the justice process.
A Portland Police cruiser (Portland Police Department)
“We appreciate the effort by Portland Police to quickly identify and apprehend the suspect,” Vasquez said.
The Portland Police Bureau extended well-wishes to both victims and urged anyone with information about the assaults to contact investigators at crimetips@police.portlandoregon.gov.
Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.
