Clackamas County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a Milwaukie man on Wednesday after he allegedly stabbed a Clackamas teen on a bike path under Highway 224.
Deputies arrested Cain Newcomb, 50, on suspicion that he stabbed Tommy Lee Smith, 18.
Clackamas County Sgt. Marcus Mendoza said Smith and a friend had been walking on the path and passed the suspect, who was smoking a cigarette. He said witnesses told deputies that Newcomb said no, so the two kept walking. But the friends turned around when they thought Newcomb offered them a cigarette. Mendoza said Newcomb got upset and argued with the teens, during which Newcomb to stab Smith.
Mendoza said on Friday that he doesn’t know Smith’s current condition, but described his injuries as “serious.”
When deputies arrived at the scene, they arrested Newcomb and then started treating Smith. They parked on the shoulder of Interstate 205 and jump the fence to get to the bike path. Deputies believed the knife punctured Smith’s lung and applied a chest seal and put pressure bandaging directly to the wound. They wrapped Smith in a space blanket to help keep him warm and prevent shock from the blood loss. Medics arrived and took him to the hospital in an ambulance.
Newcomb is charged with first-degree assault, two counts of unlawful use of a weapon and attempt to commit a Class B felony. He is being held in the Clackamas County Jail on $250,000 bail.
—Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; [email protected]; @JRamakrishnanOR
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