Repeat criminal sues for $10 million after he broke into Portland business, got shot by owner

A homeless man in Oregon is suing a Portland business owner for $10 million after he was shot three times while breaking into the man’s business.

Kenneth Voyles broke into a countertop fabrication business during the early morning hours of a cold day. He believed the business was empty and had broken in, hoping to find food and steal items. Once inside, he was confronted by the owner, James Grant. Grant immediately threw a cup of urine he had happened to be carrying, threw tiles toward him, then ran to retrieve a gun from the back room he had been living in.

“I go, ‘Stop!’ Like, ‘Please stop!’” Voyles recalled in court. “He’s assaulting me. … He was pretty angry.”

Voyles said he had picked up a pair of bolt cutters because he hoped to cut a padlock and open the garage door to escape. He said he did not want to leave through the opening he had initially used to enter the building. As he was attempting to escape, Grant returned with the weapon and shot him three times. He has since argued that the business owner’s response to the break-in was excessive.

"At that point I turn to look at him, and I’m like ‘What the f*ck?’ And he goes, ‘You’re going to die,’” Voyles said.

Grant told jurors a different story, however, saying he was unaware Voyles had asked him to stop because he was not wearing his hearing aids. Grant said he pursued Voyles because he wanted him arrested for stealing from his business.

Grant, who is 70 years old, also said he feared that the 43-year-old Voyles would hurt him and that Voyles had lifted the bolt cutters above his head and moved in his direction.

"I said, ‘Get on the ground. Get on the ground. Get on the ground. Get on the ground,” Grant explained. “And he looked very agitated. Looked like he was getting ready to attack me. Then I shot three times.”

“My adrenaline was flowing, to just protect myself,” he added. “I didn’t want to do deadly force.”

According to OregonLive, Oregon law allows people to defend their homes with lethal force from intruders, but it does not allow them to defend their businesses with such force.

Grant had a concealed weapons permit and is an Army veteran. He was not criminally charged in connection with the shooting. However, part of the trial includes whether Grant had a right to sleep at the business. He had previously been found in violation by city officials for residing there due to zoning rules.

Voyles, however, faced criminal charges. He pleaded no contest and was convicted of first-degree burglary of a dwelling and menacing. Grant’s attorney also said that Voyles had methamphetamine in his system at the time of the incident.

As part of the plea agreement, Voyles was sentenced to five years of drug treatment court. He also has a history of burglaries and served over a year in prison for an unrelated series of car thefts.

The trial will continue into next week.