3 accused of egging unsheltered people in downtown Salem
Three people are accused of throwing eggs from a car at homeless people last week in downtown Salem.
The egging was reported three nights in a row. On the third night, Friday, July 18, police found two suspects with around 225 eggs in their car, according to the Salem Police Department.
Andres Garcia, 26, Stephani Cruz Cruz, 20 and an unnamed 17-year-old girl were charged in Salem Municipal Court with bias against a person’s housing status and disorderly conduct, according to Salem police spokeswoman Angela Hedrick.
Police cited and released all three suspects, Hedrick said. Their charges are unclassified misdemeanors punishable by a maximum fine of $500 and up to six months jail.
People were hit with eggs around Northeast Court Street between Northeast Front and Liberty Streets. Police also found victims outside the Homeless Outreach and Advocacy Project Day Center at 694 Church St. N.E. according to Hedrick.
Stephen Goins, chief operations officer of Northwest Human Services which runs the center, said their clients were still reeling from the eggings when his staff checked in with them Monday morning. It’s the latest in targeted attacks on unsheltered people which providers say are pervasive and underreported.
Goins’ staff spoke with a man who said he had been doused with urine that same night while he was sleeping. Hedrick said she had not seen any such reports filed in that area, but that it may not have been reported.
Goins said the man reached out to staff on Monday to ask for help processing what happened to him.
“This person, who suffers from a great deal of trauma and mental health, told us ‘I can’t get it out of my head,’” Goins said. “He says, ‘I just don’t know why they did this. I don’t understand why someone would do this to me.’”
Police talked to witnesses and victims in the area, and collected “a considerable amount of broken eggs, discarded egg cartons, and bags of hard-boiled eggs” as evidence, Salem police said in a Facebook post Friday.
Witnesses helped police identify the suspects’ vehicle and several locations where eggs were thrown. Officers interviewed two victims but suspect there were many more, Hedrick said.
In 2022, Salem amended its city code to make it illegal to discriminate against someone because of their housing status.
Nine out of ten unhoused people who responded to the city’s 2024 community belonging survey said they’d experienced discrimination that year.
The egging came amid heightened discussions around homelessness downtown. Last week, homeless service providers told Salem Reporter that homeless people routinely experience violence and humiliation while trying to survive outside.
Goins said the harm of the egging and the urine will mount over time as the story spreads throughout the unsheltered community. He said such incidents make people feel hopeless.
“People feel exactly how they’re treated. If people feel seen and that they matter, then they begin to feel value. That’s what makes people get out of their situations,” he said. “It’s only with kindness and respect and love that anybody is going to get out of this situation.”
UPDATE: This story was updated with additional comment from Salem Police spokeswoman Angela Hedrick.
Contact reporter Abbey McDonald: [email protected] or 503-575-1251.
A MOMENT MORE, PLEASE– If you found this story useful, consider subscribing to Salem Reporter if you don’t already. Work such as this, done by local professionals, depends on community support from subscribers. Please take a moment and sign up now – easy and secure: SUBSCRIBE.
Abbey McDonald joined the Salem Reporter in 2022. She previously worked as the business reporter at The Astorian, where she covered labor issues, health care and social services. A University of Oregon grad, she has also reported for the Malheur Enterprise, The News-Review and Willamette Week.
Ardeshir Tabrizian has covered the justice system and public safety for Salem Reporter since September 2021. As an Oregon native, his award-winning watchdog journalism has traversed the state. He has done reporting for The Oregonian, Eugene Weekly and Malheur Enterprise.
