An alleged stalker responsible for terrifying two neighborhoods in Portland has been arrested in New Mexico. This arrest comes as part of a secret indictment from Oregon that has been outstanding for nearly two years.
The man, identified as Brandon James Pirkey, was taken into custody on June 18 in Gallup, New Mexico, following a November 2021 arrest warrant from Multnomah County. He is now being held at McKinley County Adult Detention Center and has waived extradition to Oregon, where he faces serious charges.
Pirkey’s harrowing actions began to surface back in March 2020 when residents of the Rose City Park and North Tabor neighborhoods began reporting suspicious behavior. Neighbors joined forces to identify the individual seen lurking outside their homes, often targeting young women.
Multiple residents reported instances where a man was caught on surveillance footage peering into windows, with some of the incidents escalating to public indecency. One chilling incident involved Pirkey climbing a window into a 13-year-old girl’s bedroom, heightening the sense of fear in the community.
Local residents like Troy Howard took proactive measures to address the threat posed by Pirkey. Howard was one of the first to report the man after a frightening encounter in March 2020, where Pirkey entered his daughters’ room, leading to a collective effort in the community to track him down.
After several sightings and instances of Pirkey’s indecent exposure, community members managed to identify him and even engaged in high-speed chases to alert the police. As a result of this collaboration, Pirkey was apprehended in October 2020 on a charge of public indecency, but he was released after only 11 hours in custody.
Due to a lack of follow-up and his failure to appear in court, Pirkey remained a fugitive until his recent arrest. In mid-December 2020, a Multnomah County grand jury issued a secret indictment against him on multiple counts: three counts of first-degree burglary, three counts of attempted first-degree burglary, and one count each of first-degree sexual abuse, luring a minor, and attempted private indecency.
This indictment reflects the significant efforts made by the Rose City and North Tabor residents who coordinated their observations and evidence to bring attention to Pirkey’s ongoing menace. Resident Ona Sapinski played a key role, distributing flyers featuring Pirkey’s image after her home security cameras captured him lurking outside.
Her children had multiple encounters with the same man, witnessing him outside their windows during the night hours. “All of us affected by his actions have not forgotten and are looking forward to his returning to face charges,” Sapinski stated, emphasizing the community’s distress over Pirkey’s alleged activities.
The public indecency charge against Pirkey in 2020 originated from an incident where he was observed masturbating while staring at a Plaid Pantry employee. This behavior is part of a troubling history; police discovered that Pirkey had previous convictions related to indecent exposure in Florida and had been a fugitive prior to his arrest in Oregon.
As the process to extradite Pirkey back to Oregon begins, Jeffrey M. Lowe, a senior deputy district attorney, expressed the jurisdiction’s commitment to ensuring that Pirkey faces the charges against him.
The residents who banded together to confront the threat of Pirkey’s actions are hopeful that this arrest represents a turning point in their pursuit of justice. “We’ve certainly been waiting for this break in the case to happen,” Howard added, expressing relief and anticipation for the upcoming trial.
With Pirkey now in custody, the neighborhood looks forward to finally achieving some semblance of justice as they await further developments in the legal proceedings against the alleged stalker.
image source from：oregonlive
