Man allegedly attacks woman for smoking his pot

By Mara Stine

The Gresham Outlook, Nov 18, 2009 (2 Reader comments)

Torren Kenneth Phillips

A local man is behind bars accused of kidnapping, strangling and raping his girlfriend after becoming enraged that she smoked his marijuana.

Torren Kenneth Phillips, 27, of East Multnomah County is being held on $825,000 bail on 13 counts of coercion, fourth-degree assault, attempted assault, menacing, strangulation, kidnapping and rape at the Multnomah County Detention Center.

The victim told police that she was in an intimate relationship with Phillips on Monday, Oct. 26, when they got into an argument over her smoking his marijuana, according to court documents.

At the time, they were in his trailer in the 7900 block of Southeast Hogan Road just east of the Persimmon Country Club when Phillips reportedly got angry, sprang out of bed and started choking and hitting the woman.

In an effort to subdue him, she apologized and said she had to leave for a doctor’s appointment.

“You’re not going anywhere,” the man reportedly said before refusing to let her leave the trailer. He then allegedly beat her, cut her with a piece of glass, threatened to kill her and strangled her until she passed out. When she regained consciousness, she realized he had raped her.

The man allegedly continued to hold her against her will and dragged her back to the trailer after she tried to escape. There he reportedly continued to beat and strangle her throughout the day until she “finally cried herself to sleep.”

In the morning, she escaped and hitchhiked to Portland, where she lives, and went directly to a doctor. Detectives noted her injuries were consistent with her allegations.

Two weeks later on Nov. 10, she met Phillips at a Southeast Portland tavern. After having some drinks, Phillips offered to drive her a few blocks to her home. But once in the car, he kept talking about the allegations she made against him in October. He also suggested ways “they” could beat the case, she said.

When she told him she just wanted to go home, he reportedly drove her to the Parkrose area, grabbing her by the hair and refusing to let her out of the vehicle.

But a motorist saw the commotion and called 9-1-1 to report a woman being held against her will in a white Mazda. The motorist followed the car until police arrived. Detectives noted that clumps of the victim’s hair were falling out of her head.

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