PORTLAND, Ore. — A man who pleaded guilty to first-degree arson after starting a fire at the Portland Police Bureau’s North Precinct on June 26, 2020, will spend five years in prison.
Gavaughn Streeter-Hillerich will be required to pay an undetermined amount of restitution to the city of Portland and be in post-prison supervision for three years after his release, according to Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt.
Streeter-Hillerich also pleaded guilty to coercion, unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of fourth-degree assault, the DA's office said.
Streeter-Hillerich started a fire in a dumpster and pushed it against plywood covering the windows of the North Precinct, court records say. There were nearly 20 people inside the building. None of them was hurt.
The fire was part of a clash between police officers and a large group of people outside the building, located at 449 NE Emerson St., on the night of June 26, 2020. Several people damaged and burned nearby businesses, all of which were owned by people of color.
Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell called the acts that occurred that night “reprehensible” and “evil”.
The day after the violence, faith leaders and members of Portland's Black community denounced the violence as an attempt to distract people from the momentum of the Black Lives Matter movement.
