Domestic Abuser Convicted Of Pushing Girlfriend Over Balcony

HILLSBORO, OR — Eyewitness accounts and physical evidence prevailed over an "implausible story" during a domestic violence trial in Washington County last week, which came to its conclusion when Circuit Court Judge Andy Erwin convicted Jordan Adam Sutherland of assaulting his girlfriend in September 2017.

Sutherland, 27, had been accused of pushing the mother of his infant child off a third-story balcony in Hillsboro on the evening of Sept. 11. The fall left the woman with a fractured spine and a large laceration on her head that ultimately required 14 staples to close, Washington County Deputy District Attorney Andrew Freeman said.

Witnesses testified to hearing Sutherland arguing with his 27-year-old girlfriend at their apartment prior to the fall. The argument, Freeman said, was punctuated by the woman shouting, "Don't hurt me!" before Sutherland was seen pushing her with two hands over the balcony rail and onto the concrete below.

With the woman lying there, clearly unconscious and quickly losing blood from her head, witnesses initially reported she was dead, Freeman said. Police were able to get her to hospital, however, preventing her untimely demise.

Investigators later learned Sutherland had also broken his girlfriend's jaw when he punched her in the face less than one month before pushing her off the balcony. The late-August incident had not been reported, though, Freeman said.

Nevertheless, Sutherland was charged with both assaults following his arrest in September.

During the trial, which reportedly took about one week, Sutherland's defense attorney tried to convince Judge Erwin that Sutherland did not push his girlfriend at all, and that he was in fact trying to stop her from committing suicide.

Sutherland himself testified he "heroically … held onto the victim as long as possible as she dramatically hung from the ledge," Freeman said. "(Sutherland) was supported by his cousin and the victim, who was uncooperative with the investigation and prosecution."

Freeman explained that even while Sutherland was in jail, awaiting trial for the two assaults, he violated orders to have no contact with his girlfriend at least 12 times — earning himself 12 separate counts of contempt.

Despite the defense's argument, and apparent outbursts from Sutherland's mother that required her removal from the courtroom, "Senior Deputy District Attorney Jeff Lesowski successfully argued that the state’s eyewitnesses and physical evidence were more credible than Sutherland’s implausible story," Freeman said.

Sutherland's sentencing is set for 1:30 p.m. Feb. 27 in Washington County courtroom 422J. Convicted of first and second degree assault, both Measure 11 crimes with mandatory minimums, Sutherland faces upward of 7.5 years in prison.

Image via Washington County District Attorney's Office