Driver sentenced for threatening, running over 60-year-old man

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A man in Washington County faces 90 months in prison for the assault and attempted murder of a 60-year-old man in 2022, according to the county’s district attorney’s office on Friday.

The sentencing followed Wednesday’s guilty verdict, which stated that 46-year-old Mariano James Polanco is guilty of attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault, failing to perform the duties of a driver to injured persons, and driving while suspended or revoked.

On July 2, 2022, investigators say Polanco parked his truck next to the 60-year-old's vehicle and began harassing him while throwing plastic bottles and playing loud music. When the man held up a cane to protect himself from being attacked, Polanco kicked him away.

According to police, the man held his cane like a baseball bat while Polanco told him he was going to kill him and that he was a dead man. Polanco then got into his truck and reversed it to drive into the man, who was seriously injured.

Police found Polanco’s truck hours later and, after investigating his car for damage that matched notes from the crime scene, arrested him for the assault.

After Polanco serves time in prison, he will also serve three years of supervised release. Until then, he will be located at the Oregon Department of Corrections.