Portland man who killed landlord when he snuck in dressed as Michael Myers will not face charges
PORTLAND, OREGON: Prosecutors in Portland decided not to press charges against the man who fatally stabbed his former landlord, Justin Valdivia, 46, with a 'saber-like' sword in September because he acted in self-defense. On September 15, at about 1.30 am, Portland police received a call to a residence in the Eliot district of the city and arrived to find a man deceased.
According to Willamette Week, Valdivia had a history of getting into fights with his tenants. On Sep 15, he had snuck into one of the properties he had rented out with a hammer in one hand and a gun in the other. As there was nowhere to hide and get away from Valdivia, the tenant fetched the sword he had kept handy, and "a struggle then ensued." After being stabbed by the tenant, Valdivia collapsed on the floor. When paramedics arrived on the scene, the landlord was pronounced dead. Investigators later determined that the weapon found near Valdivia's body was a black pellet gun. Valdivia was "wielding what appeared to be two dangerous and deadly weapons" while carrying out a burglary, according to the DA's letter.
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Willamette Week, which got the DA's brief on the incident, reported that Justin Valdivia, 46, was fatally stabbed by the tenant with a "saberlike" sword after he broke into a residence he had rented out. When the incident happened, the landlord was wearing a Michael Myers costume from the 'Halloween' film series, reports Fox News.
Valdivia lived in a recently built house in the immediate vicinity property rented to four tenants. It is believed that the landlord and the tenants had a strained relationship, including one man who recently left the house. According to police records cited by Willamette Week, Valdivia threatened the tenants twice with a knife before he died. He allegedly tried to break into the house while drunk one morning at 4.00 am, at which point one of the residents fought him off.
The previous tenant, who had just left the house, was a visitor at the time of the fatal stabbing. Prosecutors allege he was trying to protect himself from the landlord and had records of Valdivia's previous bizarre events. He hid a sword under a sofa to keep it close at hand, and prosecutors allege he set up a "makeshift alarm" by leaning a picture against a door and placing a shoebox on top so "it would fall and made a lot of noise if the door was opened."
On September 15, the man was watching videos on YouTube when he heard the shoebox fall to the floor. Valdivia entered the house with a key and was dressed in full Michael Myers attire, including the white mask and blue jumpsuit for which the fictional character is known. The guest stabbed Valdivia, wrestled away his gun, and threw it out of reach. Valdivia fell to the floor, unresponsive