Portland Man In Church Vandalism Case Misses Court Appearance

PORTLAND, OR – The man who called 911 on Christmas Eve to let police know that he'd driven his Acura SUV through The Church of Our Lady of Lavang in Northeast Portland was scheduled to be in court on Wednesday. Hieu John Phung is charged with criminal mischief in connection with the incident.

He never made it.

Early on Wednesday morning, police in Warrenton on the coast responded to a call of a suicidal man at Fort Stevens State Park. Upon arrival, they found Phung who requested assistance. Police took him to the hospital.

He is now scheduled to be in court in Portland on Jan. 9.

The church that police say he admitted damaging is on Northeast Alameda. The Church of Our Lady of Lavang is an important place for people in Portland's Vietnamese Catholic community. Early on Christmas Eve, it also became a crime scene.

Just after midnight on Monday morning, Portland Police responded to the church at 5404 Northeast Alameda Street after getting a call that someone had driven a vehicle into the building, and then drove out and away.

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Arriving, the officers found extensive damage to the church's exterior as well as inside.

While they were investigating, police say that they received a call from Phung who was at a body shop about 15 minutes away.

They arrived there, found him and his Acura, which had damage consistent with the damage that had been done, arrested him, and seized his SUV as evidence.

The church – officially the Southeast Asian Vicariate Church of Our Lady of Lavang – is part of the Archdiocese of Portland. The parish was created in 1975 and serves more than 5,000 Vietnamese Catholics in the area.

Hundreds of people showed up on Christmas Eve to help clean-up and get the church ready for services that evening and on Christmas Day. The only difference was that parts of the church were boarded up and churchgoers sat on folding chairs instead of in pews.

Photo via Multnomah County Sheriff's Office.