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PORTLAND, Ore. (KPTV) — A man was sentenced to nearly six years in prison for attacking a stranger outside a store in southeast Portland.
Kory Allen Thomle, 55, pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree assault Wednesday.
Thomle was arrested in August 2018. Officers responded to a report of an attack outside a 7-Elven on the 7100 block of Southeast Powell Boulevard and found the victim unconscious and bleeding from the head.
Bill Nickelby was in the intensive care unit for days with a skull fracture and brain bleed.
Nickelby testified in court Tuesday and the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office reported Thomle decided to change his plea after hearing that testimony.
Nickelby described his assault-related injuries, including a permanent loss of hearing in one ear and what may be a permanent loss of smell.
Investigators said Nickelby went to the store to buy snacks for his family when Thomle approached him and asked him to buy beer.
Court documents state Nickelby said no and something to the effect of, “that’s sketchy.”
The district attorney’s office reported that Thomle later told law enforcement that after being called “sketchy,” he decided to stand and wait, with a baseball bat in hand, for the victim to come out of the store.
When Nickelby walked out, Thomle dropped the bat, grabbed him by the throat, choked him and punched him in the face, according to information provided to law enforcement.
After being punched, the victim was knocked unconscious, fell to the ground and hit his head on the asphalt.
“This was a sunny summer Sunday afternoon that the victim had planned to spend with his family enjoying their swimming pool,” said Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Todd Jackson. “Instead, he woke up at 2 a.m. the next day in the intensive care unit with no idea what happened to him or how he got there.”
Nickelby’s wife told FOX 12 last year that she went looking for him and actually approached Thomle, who told her it looked like her husband had a medical emergency and was taken to the hospital.
Investigators said a note was later found on Nickelby’s car that matched Thomle’s penmanship and said, “Next time sir, you need to think twice about who you call sketchy. I just did a 25-year stretch for murder. You got lucky be happy you’re alive. THINK before running your mouth. I’m not out here cuz I like it.”
Court records show Thomle has a criminal history including convictions for sex abuse, rape, possession of a controlled substance and failure to report as a sex offender. No court records were available showing a murder case.
Thomle was sentenced to 70 months in prison Wednesday.
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