PORTLAND, Oregon — The Portland man that allegedly drove his pickup truck through the closed streets of the Grand Floral Parade last weekend has been indicted by a grand jury on 38 counts, according to a news release from the Portland Police Bureau.
Sidney Sean Mecham faces 17 counts of unlawful use of a weapon, 15 counts of recklessly endangering another person, two counts of failing to perform the duties of a driver, one count of second-degree attempted assault, one count of reckless driving, one count of attempting to assault a public safety officer, and one count of attempting to elude police by car.
Mecham, 42, is suspected of driving his pickup truck through the Grand Floral Parade route on June 10, where police said an officer saw several people "in danger of being struck."
During his first court appearance on Monday, his attorney said “he was disoriented and trying to get away from a difficult situation” while driving recklessly through the closed-off parade route.
On Saturday, just after 10 a.m. Mecham led police on a long pursuit through various streets filled with families in Northeast Portland.
An officer attempted to stop Mecham several times by getting in front of him but eventually had to move away because Mecham almost hit him.
Moments later Mecham left the parade route and continued to elude police. The Portland Police Air Unit was able to follow him and alert officers.
Police eventually caught up with Mecham and arrested him.
Court documents show Mecham is from Portland and has been in and out of prison and juvenile detention since he was 15 on sex abuse convictions against minors. His most recent charges are six counts of sex abuse of a minor—that 2021 case is still working its way through court. It's still unclear what his motive was for speeding through the parade route.