Woodburn man sentenced to over 8 years in prison for series of hoax bomb robberies

Published 12:19 pm Tuesday, August 5, 2025

A Woodburn man was sentenced to eight years, four months in prison after pleading guilty to robbing multiple local stores while wearing a “hoax bomb vest.”

On Aug. 4, a Marion County grand jury indicted 34-year-old Nicholas Contreras-Salmion on two counts of second-degree robbery, one count of attempted robbery and one count of possession of a hoax destructive device.

This first robbery occurred Jan. 19 at Crossroads Grocery in Woodburn. According to officials, Contreras-Salmion approached the register and unbuttoned his sweatshirt to reveal what appeared to be a vest strapped with dynamite.

Holding what looked like a detonator in his left hand, Contreras-Salmion handed the clerk a bag and demanded money. According to the district attorney’s office, he threatened to detonate the device if the clerk did not obey. Contreras-Salmion then exited the store after the clerk gave him cash from the register.

Approximately one week later, a device resembling Contreras-Salmion’s bomb vest was found in the area of Johnson Street and Bryan Street in Woodburn and reported to police. The Oregon State Police bomb squad responded and determined it to be a hoax device.

On Feb. 7, another incident occurred at the EZ Stop Grocery in Woodburn. According to an employee, Contreras-Salmion entered the store and approached the counter where he unzipped his sweatshirt to reveal what appeared to be another bomb strapped to his torso.

He told the worker she had seven minutes to open the safe. When she said she didn’t have access to it and moved towards her phone, Contreras-Salmion pressed a button, activating red flashing lights on the vest and warned that she now had only three minutes. According to the district attorney’s office, the shop’s other customer then exited the restroom, and the defendant fled the store without obtaining any money.

On Feb. 13, six days after the EZ stop robbery, Contreras-Salmion was stopped by two Woodburn police officers while walking on Lincoln Street. According to the district attorney, Contreras-Salmion was wearing another hoax-destructive device under his shirt when he was contacted by police.

The district attorney’s report said Contreras-Salmion admitted to engaging in the robberies and building the fake bomb vests, saying he was out of work and needed the money.

“Robbery is traumatizing enough, but the use of a fake explosive device to instill fear and force compliance by his victims is a heightened level of callousness,” said Marion County Chief Deputy District Attorney Brendan Murphy. “That is especially true in Woodburn with its unbelievably tragic history involving explosive devices.”

In 2008, two Woodburn police officers were killed and the police chief was seriously injured while responding to a bomb at the West Coast Bank.

Under Measure 11, second-degree robbery has a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years, 10 months.