According to records, two persons broke into buildings in Portland this week in separate attempts to escape the cold.
A man who claimed to have been turned away from shelters and people’s homes during the city’s cold snap was taken into custody by police on Sunday after they responded to an alarm report at Sacramento Elementary School in Northeast Portland. According to court documents, the individual allegedly told police that he shattered a school window in order to enter and remain warm.
According to court documents, Shad Berglund, 44, is accused of third-degree theft, burglary, criminal mischief, and second-degree trespassing.
After breaking into a McDonald’s restaurant in Southeast Portland the next day, a woman was taken into custody. In addition, the woman told authorities that she did it to stay warm.
According to court documents, when police arrived to the McDonald’s on Southeast Powell Boulevard at around 4 a.m. on Monday, they discovered a person sleeping on the second floor of the play area and a smashed glass door.
According to court documents, the suspect, Danica Sproelich, said police she had broken into the fast-food business because she wanted a place to sleep because it was chilly outside. She also allegedly admitted to officers that she was aware of the existence of shelters and other housing choices.
Sproelich, 25, faces charges of second-degree criminal trespass and first-degree criminal mischief.
According to data from the National Weather Service, downtown Portland saw lows of 29 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday and 32 degrees on Monday.
According to an email from county spokeswoman Denis Theriault, Multnomah County did not activate its severe-weather shelters because the predicted conditions did not reach the required threshold. According to Theriault, the county has 3,000 beds available all year round, with an additional 200 overnight beds available during the winter.
Severe-weather shelters in Multnomah County, which can house up to 1,300 people, open if one or more of three conditions are met for four or more hours between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m.: if temperatures are predicted to drop below 26 or 33 degrees Fahrenheit with at least one inch of rain and winds exceeding 10 miles per hour overnight, or if forecasts indicate that at least one inch of snow will fall in a 24-hour period.
With temps in the 40s on Tuesday, Washington County maintained two severe-weather shelters open until noon.
Fedor Zarkhin is an enterprise and breaking news reporter. Have you got a story? Contact him by email at [email protected] or by phone at 971-373-2905.
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