PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN 6) – Over the weekend, police arrested a 19-year-old man accused of making ethnically charged threats towards a local business owner.
Abdalah Mohamed is scheduled to appear in court Monday afternoon and will be arraigned on two counts of second-degree intimidation.
Records show he was arrested Jan. 9 after a warrant was issued for his arrest Dec. 15, 2014. The case was previously dismissed, but the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office opted to re-file the case late last year.
Deputy District Attorney Richard Freud, who wrote the affidavit to support an arrest warrant, said Monday he is no longer handling the case and did not know why the case was originally dismissed and now re-issued.
According to the affidavit, Portland police responded to Ira’s Deli at Northeast 72nd and Prescott at 9:40 a.m July 14, 2014. An employee working told police that Mohamed, a frequent customer, entered the store and approached the counter. He reportedly wanted to buy a single cigarette, court documents state. When told that the business did not sell individual cigarettes, Mohamed started “to make threatening statements,” Freud wrote.
The comments were disparaging toward Judaism and Israel, court documents state. “I will blow up your store,” Mohamed reportedly said. “I’m going to take care of you, you mother (redacted).” Police said that Mohamed also said, “I’ll call my people to take care of you to shoot you!” He also reportedly said “I will blow up your store in the name of Allah” and “I will take care of people like you!”
After the in-store incident, the employee told police that Mohamed left the store and got into a silver sedan and started driving away. The deli’s owner then returned, and police said he got out and continued to yell and threaten him. At one point, Mohamed started “spitting on the ground around and toward” the owner, Freud wrote.
While police were taking witness statements, Mohamed reportedly called the deli. The owner answered and Mohamed started yelling more ethnic slurs.
Mohamed was arrested by Portland police near the intersection of Northeast 92nd and Halsey.