A 62-year-old man from Oregon will spend several years in prison after following home the winner of a barroom video lottery game and attempting to rob him of his $2,000 ticket at knifepoint, stabbing him 15 times in the process.
Multnomah County Circuit Judge Benjamin Souede sentenced Pablo Figueroa to five years and ten months in a state correctional facility on Friday, according to court records. In March, Figueroa pleaded no contest to one count of second-degree assault, first-degree burglary, and attempted Class A felony.
In exchange for pleading guilty, prosecutors from the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office dropped several additional counts of attempted murder, burglary, robbery, assault, strangulation, and unlawful use of a weapon.
According to court documents obtained by Portland NBC affiliate KGW, the incident began on Saturday, August 18, 2024, when the victim went to Montana’s Bar on the 11000 block of Southeast Stark Street in Portland. While at the bar, the victim played a lottery machine and won the $2,000 jackpot. After winning, Figueroa reportedly introduced himself to the victim.
The victim eventually left Montana’s Bar and walked several blocks home to the Wy’East Plaza Apartments. Unbeknownst to the victim, Figueroa had been following him since he left the bar, all the way back to his house, where he watched him open the locked security door and catch it before it closed again.
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Figueroa allegedly followed the victim up to the second floor of the building, waited for him to open the door, and then forced his way into the apartment. According to a report by Portland Fox affiliate KPTV, Figueroa then tackled the victim and punched him repeatedly while demanding money.
Despite the victim giving Figueroa several hundred dollars, Figueroa allegedly pulled out a pocketknife and stabbed him 15 times, injuring his face, chest, and arms. According to KGW, the victim said he likely only survived the attack because he decided to play dead.
The victim reportedly blacked out shortly after the attack and woke up to the sound of snoring inside his apartment. He claimed that he was able to flee after discovering that Figueroa had fallen asleep following the attack.
“Mr. Figueroa had the money and could have left my apartment,” the victim said in court, according to The Oregonian, “but instead decided to sit at my kitchen table and watch me die.”
Police obtained surveillance footage from both inside and outside the apartment building and discovered no evidence of Figueroa leaving the building. During the search, investigators said they discovered Figueroa hiding inside the building’s garbage room.
Police discovered that his pants were stained with blood, and he was carrying $624 in cash. The pocketknife used to attack the victim was found inside a box of cat litter.
Figueroa was reportedly wanted on several warrants at the time of his arrest for failing to appear in court on charges including identity theft and auto theft. He had previously been convicted for failing to report as a sex offender.