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A suspect turns himself in; he is charged with attempted murder, animal abuse and hit-and-run..
A Eugene man turned himself in to authorities on Monday, five days after police say he tried to kill a neighbor by running over him with a truck while the victim walked his dog.
Francisco Mario Ochoa, 33, is being held in the Lane County Jail on charges of attempted murder, first-degree assault, first-degree animal abuse and hit-and-run driving in connection with the Wednesday incident.
Police said Ochoa intentionally ran his pickup into a 50-year-old man and his dog as they walked on a sidewalk near the corner of Gay Street and Snelling Drive in northeast Eugene, near Gilham Road.
The pickup then hit another vehicle parked in a driveway, and finally came to rest after crashing into the garage of a house. Police said Ochoa ran from the area before officers arrived there.
The victim remains hospitalized with injuries that are not life-threatening, a police spokeswoman said.
The dog died at the scene, police said.
The victim’s family could not be reached for comment on Monday.
Ochoa and the victim were on friendly terms before becoming involved in a recent dispute, Ochoa’s attorney said.
“They are neighbors who have (exercised) together in the past,” said the attorney, Michael Arnold of Eugene.
Arnold said the victim had threatened his client with violence and claimed affiliation with the Mongols motorcycle club.
Arnold said Ochoa called him Monday before turning himself in to the U.S. Marshals Service, which he had hoped could “give him additional protections” in jail in case any of the victim’s associates were being held there.
Turner resident Jeremy DeLoretto, who co-founded the Mongols’ Oregon chapter, said Monday that the man who is identified in court documents as the victim in Ochoa’s case is a former member of the club who is no longer affiliated with the group.
While many law enforcement authorities characterize the Mongols as a criminal biker gang, DeLoretto said club members “are just a group of guys who enjoy riding motorcycles.”
The Register-Guard normally does not identify crime victims.
Arnold did not disclose the nature of the alleged dispute between Ochoa and the victim. Ochoa is a “stay-at-home dad” who has no criminal record, Arnold said.
Ochoa is expected to be arraigned on the charges later today in Lane County Circuit Court.
