Crime & Safety

Man Threatens To Shoot 3 Others For Playing Music He Didn't Like

Terry McCutcheon allegedly threatened to shoot 3 other men who walked past his truck Sunday while playing music McCutcheon did not enjoy.

NEWPORT, OR — Because he didn't like the music three men were playing as they walked by his truck in Newport last Sunday, Terry Eugene McCutcheon pulled a gun and threatened to shoot them. He was subsequently arrested and charged with menacing.

McCutcheon, 44, of Newport, was taken to Lincoln County Jail following his arrest. Along with three counts of menacing, McCutcheon is also charged with unlawful use of a weapon and pointing a firearm at another person. His bail is set at $50,000.

According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Patch, McCutcheon was drunk and sitting in his truck in the parking lot between the Mini Pet Mart and Why Pay More just after 8:30 p.m. Aug. 5. While sitting there, McCutcheon reportedly heard music being played by three men as they walked across the lot from the nearby Fred Meyer store.

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The men — who are Latino and African-American — later told officers they had just left the Fred Meyer and were walking through the lot when McCutcheon — who is white — got out of his truck and told them "to play some good music."

The men reportedly told McCutcheon to "shut the f--- up" and get back in his truck. But instead, McCutcheon reportedly reached into his truck to retrieve a black handgun. Pulling the slide to chamber a round, McCutcheon allegedly pointed the gun at each of the three men, who promptly ran away.

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One of the men hid in some bushes and called the police while the other two ran toward Sea Towne, police said.

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When interviewed, all three men told investigators they didn't get within 20 feet of McCutcheon and never gave him any reason to think they would attack or otherwise harm him.

Around 9:45 p.m. Newport officers found McCutcheon about two blocks north in the Safeway parking lot.

An officer reported seeing a black handgun sitting in the truck next to McCutcheon as he approached the vehicle. McCutcheon, however, was arrested there without incident.

When interviewed by officers, McCutcheon admitted he pulled the gun and loaded it in an attempt to scare the three men. He also said he knew right away that he'd made a mistake.

Taking the weapon as evidence, the officer noted the gun was still loaded with a round in the chamber.

Aside from a DUII conviction in 2002, McCutcheon has no other criminal history in Oregon.


Image via Newport Police Department


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