A man has pleaded guilty to attempted murder after he’d been caught harassing a flock of peacocks. File Photo

Ronnie Lee Scott was arrested on Wednesday, July 9, days after a grand jury indicted him on first- and second-degree manslaughter charges and first-degree assault in the death of 73-year-old Kenny L. Housman in Southeast Portland.

The 61-year-old alleged suspect lived near Housman in the Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood, according to court records, and instigated an argument regarding Housman’s welcoming of homeless campers on the street.

Just after midnight on July 15, 2024, Portland Police Bureau officers dispatched to the encampment found Housman with life-threatening injuries and he later died at a hospital. A medical examiner identified his cause of death as fatal stab wounds.

Housman was a self-appointed camping “sheriff” for his street, according to a September 2023 KATU-TV interview with Housman, dubbed the “sheriff of Clinton Street.”

According to a probable cause affidavit, Housman would provide campers with power through an extension cord running to his home.

The two reportedly physically fought one another after a verbal argument, in which Housman hit Scott with a large wooden piece that looked like a bed post, when Scott drew a knife and stabbed him in the upper chest area.

Police said they had detained Scott, at the time, who described the stabbing as self-defense, and police said they saw visual markers of where he had been hit by the stick. Scott was released after cooperating with police.

Anyone with information about this case who has not already talked to police is asked to contact the Portland Police Bureau.