PORTLAND, Ore. — David Rinella, the owner of Rinella Produce in Portland's Central Eastside, said he's lucky to be alive after an attack outside his business on Sunday morning. The altercation left him with five broken ribs, a fractured scapula and a punctured lung.
When he noticed a group of people breaking into his car, right outside of his window, he went outside to confront them.
"I have a right to protect my property, I feel," he told KGW in a phone interview from his hospital bed. "And really, I should’ve just called the police. I’m 63 now. I’m not what I used to be."
Rinella said he had a bat in his hand, but one of the attackers took it, and began clubbing him with it.
"I was trying to get up, and I couldn't get up. Every time I tried to get up, I either got kicked or hit with a baseball bat," he said. "One of the guys ... took out a 9mm and he was one foot away from my face. He demanded the keys."
Just then, a Portland police officer patrolling in the area rolled up. According to release from PPB, the officer "observed a male lying on the ground surrounded by two armed people, a male and a female." He stopped to investigate.
Rinella said this action likely saved his life.
"I was just so happy to see him," he said.
Portland police said the officer detained one of the two suspects, the female — but the male ran off. Through the investigation, he learned the suspects had attempted to carjack the victim, and said the male suspect had a handgun.
Eventually, PPB took the second suspect into custody after community members located him later on.
"I just couldn’t believe it," said Fred Pittman, Rinella's best friend. "Unfortunately they would do that to a guy like that? Who feeds the homeless? Who does so much for people? He gives back so much."
Pittman pointed out the damage to the car, from dents to a smashed-out rear window.
"You can replace a car. All that can be replaced. Material stuff," he said. "But, he's alive and well."
Pittman visited Rinella in the hospital Monday afternoon.
"He's here for the community and trying to take care of the community and do the best he can," he said. "What I like about what he told me today — he’s not going to stop. He’s not. It’s not going to deter him at all. He’s always going to give. That's just how he is."
Portland Police arrested both Delrey Penney, 49, and Claudia Atkinson, 31, on a series of carjacking charges. The Major Crimes Team continues to investigate. If anyone has information about this case, and has not spoken to investigators, PPB would like them to contact Detective Brett Hawkinson at brett.hawkinson@police.portlandoregon.gov.