Background: An image of Dustin Rotbart's vehicle allegedly approaching a group of pedestrians. Inset: Surveillance camera image of Dustin Rotbart allegedly chasing someone while wielding a knife. (Both images via the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office)
An Oregon man accused of threatening his neighbors with a variety of weapons has been taken into custody on several felony charges.
Dustin Rotbart, 40, is in custody at the Multnomah County Detention Center where he is being held without bail after authorities said he repeatedly threatened his neighbors. According to court documents reviewed by Law&Crime, Rotbart was arrested on Feb. 23 after police received a call from a business in Portland about a man banging on windows and causing a disturbance.
But it was not the first time people complained about Rotbart's alleged behavior. Less than 10 days earlier, on Feb. 14, Rotbart allegedly pulled a knife at the same business and threatened the patrons, asking them, "Do you want to get stabbed? Do you want to die today?"
According to court documents, police said a bystander who witnessed the Feb. 14 incident told officers that he attempted to disarm Rotbart, who not only had a knife, but also a stun baton. Surveillance video reportedly captured Rotbart being pushed or shoved by the bystander. Rotbart then allegedly pursued the bystander, who ran back to his apartment, with the knife and stun baton. The confrontation apparently ended when Rotbart's demeanor changed and the two men high-fived each other.
The doorman at the apartment where the bystander lived corroborated the bystander's version of events to police.
On Feb. 15, police said residents in another neighborhood reported a man who they said was aiming a bow and arrow at various homes and people. Police later identified that man as Rotbart. Police wrote that Rotbart engaged in similar behavior a week prior, but he was not taken into custody because he was at his own property.
Minutes after the deputy who responded to the bow and arrow call left, dispatchers received another call about a woman who said her neighbor — Rotbart — tried to hit her with his car. Surveillance video from the area allegedly caught Rotbart's vehicle accelerating toward a group of people.
Police wrote in the charging documents that Rotbart's erratic and allegedly violent behavior was seemingly driven by "psychedelic mushrooms" and his wife filing for divorce. According to police, Rotbart's wife kicked him out of their house, and he responded by breaking down the door and throwing a book at her. An AR-15 rifle was reportedly found in his vehicle at the time.
On Jan. 19, police responded to a call about shots fired, allegedly by Rotbart. When police arrived, Rotbart, reportedly high on mushrooms, took his clothes off. Police apparently found mushrooms in the car, and a search of his garage yielded an AR-15 rifle and a revolver. The next day, a judge prohibited Rotbart from possessing deadly weapons, writing in a ruling that there was "clear and convincing evidence that [Rotbart] presents [the] risk of suicide and/or causing physical injury to another person in the immediate or near future."
KOIN reported that a letter from seven of Rotbart's neighbors expressed serious concerns about neighborhood safety due to his alleged behavior. The letter read, "Over the past several months, our community has collectively witnessed and experienced a sustained pattern of threatening and intimidating behavior, including but not limited to: Rapidly discharging approximately 20 rounds from a firearm from his house, verbally assaulting a neighbor, and recurring loud parties at early morning hours."
The neighbors wrote that Rotbart's alleged behavior caused them to change their everyday routines and keep their children inside.
Rotbart was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on Feb. 23 on three counts of unlawful use of a weapon, three counts of menacing, two counts of burglary, and one count of disorderly conduct. He was ordered during a court hearing on Tuesday to be held without bail. His next court date was scheduled for April 13.