MPD provides update on NYE one-man crime spree

DOWNTOWN MEDFORD, Ore. — Around 12:15 p.m. on December 31st, police say 28-year-old Brian Matthew Smith attempted to steal cigarettes and physically harassed an employee at the Chevron gas station on Biddle Road.

Medford Police say he then left the gas station in a 4-door black Mazda.

Police say the same car was reported recklessly driving near 10th and Hamilton Street around 12:30 p.m., driving into some bushes and hitting a curb.

MPD says the crash caused the wheel to fold underneath the car, where it was then abandoned and disabled on Earhart Street.

Medford Police say that Smith then went to the Sis-Q Motel on S. Riverside Avenue. It says an officer saw him emerge from the manager’s office covered in blood. From there he fled on foot and was taken into custody.

When police returned to the scene, they found manager Bonsi Sahu dead and his wife assaulted.

Police say the investigation revealed Smith forced his way into the manager’s office, crawled under the plexiglass partition, and stole money from the register.

It was during the crime, police say that Smith assaulted the manager and his wife.

Sahu’s wife was treated on-scene for non-life-threatening injuries.

Smith is charged with murder, robbery in the first degree, and 2 counts of burglary.

There is no set bail.