The two remaining suspects in a brutal attack against an apparent friend appeared Friday in Clark County Superior Court on allegations including attempted murder.
Eron M. Mendoza, 27, and Evan D. Ebeo, 32, both of Sherwood, Ore., also appeared on suspicion of first-degree assault and first-degree robbery in connection with the Aug. 12 incident in Ridgefield. A third co-defendant, 29-year-old Jerrel James Revette, appeared earlier in the week on the same allegations.
Revette allegedly told investigators that the victim, Justin R. Boespflug, had stolen from him, and “this was retaliation to his theft,” according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Ridgefield police were dispatched about 2:40 a.m. to Clark County Fire & Rescue’s Fire Station 21, at 911 N. 65th Ave., because a man was banging on a side door. The man, identified as Boespflug, collapsed in the station’s driveway. His hands were covered in blood, and his face was swollen, bloody and bruised, the affidavit says.
An officer asked him what happened, and Boespflug said he had been “robbed and beaten up by his friends” and named the three suspects, court records state.
Police served a search warrant Aug. 17 at a home in the Five Corners area, where Revette was taken into custody. He agreed to speak with investigators.
He said the trio told Boespflug they were going to a party and picked him up in Revette’s car. While driving, Revette told Boespflug they were almost out of gas so he pulled into a church parking lot in the 1500 block of North 65th Avenue and asked Boespflug to look up directions, according to the affidavit.
That’s when Ebeo, from the back seat, put a rope around Boespflug’s neck and started to strangle him, while Mendoza, also seated in the back, grabbed a knife and tried to stab Boespflug, Revette told investigators. He said he tried to stop Mendoza and then let Boespflug out of the car, court records say.
However, Boespflug told police that Revette was punching him, chased him with a baton as he ran away and then tried to run him over, court documents state.
The trio made off with Boespflug’s state welfare benefits card; a Nike Air Jordan shoe; and hockey gloves, according to the affidavit, which indicated there may be additional stolen items.
Ebeo and Mendoza were arrested Wednesday by Vancouver and Portland tactical police officers.
Judge John Fairgrieve set Mendoza and Ebeo’s bail at $150,000 and $175,000, respectively. They will be arraigned Aug. 31.
