Man charged with attempted murder after attacking a man with a skateboard

17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse defends himself from an attempted murder with a skateboard in Kenosha, Wisconsin (Screenshot from YouTube)


Nick Morgan

Mail Tribune, Medford, Ore.

A Central Point man faces felony charges accusing him of attacking a man with a skateboard, strangling him until he lost consciousness and taking the victim’s phone and laptop to prevent him from calling for help.

Chad Michael Heppner, 46, was charged by the Jackson County District Attorney’s office Wednesday with attempted murder, assault and robbery, accusing him in the Tuesday attack of a 50-year-old man inside a travel trailer in the 200 block of Applewood Drive in Central Point.

The victim told police he believed Heppner attacked him because he’d allowed Heppner’s girlfriend to use his AAA card after Heppner slashed her tires, according to an affidavit filed by Central Point police in Jackson County Circuit Court.

The victim reportedly helped Heppner treat a gash to his finger incurred in the tire slashing earlier that day.

Heppner allegedly showed up visibly intoxicated in the middle of the night at the victim’s trailer door, and the victim let Heppner inside.

Shortly after 2 a.m. the two men were sitting at a table inside the trailer when Heppner grabbed a skateboard and struck the man in the head.

The skateboard attack caused scrape marks in the ceiling and partially knocked down a smoke detector, according to police.

The victim told police he fell face-down onto a bed, where Heppner continued hitting him on the side of his face and back of the head.

The victim pushed away from the bed, and the attack moved to the ground. Heppner allegedly got on top of the victim, struck the man several times in the face and then moved his hands around his neck.

The victim ultimately lost consciousness. When he came to, Heppner, his phone and his computer were gone. Medical personnel found the victim’s nose and right eye socket were fractured, according to police.

The victim told police he believed Heppner was trying to kill him.

Heppner reportedly called the police at 5:09 a.m. reporting his car stolen. When police responded, however, they found Heppner naked and refusing to cooperate with law enforcement. Heppner was taken to a hospital and placed on a medical hold, where he received stitches for the knife wound allegedly sustained while slashing his girlfriend’s tires.

Jackson County Jail records show Heppner remained an inmate as of Wednesday afternoon. Heppner was scheduled to make his initial appearance in Jackson County Circuit Court Wednesday.

Court records show Heppner has multiple felony convictions. including a 2011 conviction for violating a stalking protective order, 2013 convictions for first- and second-degree burglary and being a felon in possession of a firearm, a 2017 first-degree burglary conviction and 2020 convictions for possessing methamphetamine, felony fourth-degree assault and first-degree criminal mischief.

Reach web editor Nick Morgan at 541-776-4471 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @MTwebeditor.

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