Oregon firefighter, 2 others arrested for allegedly kidnapping man who stole marijuana

PORTLAND, Ore. (TCD) -- A 46-year-old firefighter with the Portland Fire & Rescue Bureau was arrested for his alleged involvement in an armed kidnapping in the city’s downtown area Saturday night.

The Portland Police Bureau announced in a statement that Douglas Lee Bourland, Hong Dieu Lee, and Edward Sherman Simmons were taken into custody on three counts of first-degree kidnapping. Lee was additionally charged with assault and unlawful use of a weapon.

According to the statement, a witness called police at 10:37 p.m. on August 14 after seeing what they believed was a kidnapping near Southwest Broadway and Southwest Taylor Street. Officers received information about a potential vehicle used in the alleged kidnapping, and reportedly saw it about an hour later near Southwest California Street and Southwest Macadam Avenue.

Officers reportedly took the three suspects into custody, though the victim was reportedly not in the car. The person was located the next morning at approximately 10 a.m. in Clackamas County, Portland Police said.

Portland Police believe the victim and the suspects "were not all strangers to one another."

According to The Oregonian/Oregon Live, Bourland had been a firefighter with the bureau for 14 years. Terry Foster, a spokesman for the Portland Fire & Rescue Bureau, told The Oregonian/Oregon Live that Bourland was on leave prior to Saturday’s alleged kidnapping, but he did not specify why.

According to the probable cause affidavit cited by The Oregonian/Oregon Live, Bourland allegedly wanted to "teach a lesson" to the victim after the victim allegedly burglarized Bourland’s marijuana dispensary. The suspects allegedly found the victim, who was not named, outside Ruth’s Chris Steak House in downtown Portland. Lee allegedly hit the victim with a pistol and allegedly forced him into a dark Range Rover Bourland was driving, according to the probable cause affidavit.

The victim’s friends and an Uber driver reportedly saw the victim being forced into the Range Rover at gunpoint, according to the affidavit. The affidavit also alleges Bourland, Lee, and Simmons drove the victim to a marijuana farm in another county and left him in a storage container there. They reportedly wanted the victim to lead them to the location of the stolen marijuana.

The Oregonian/Oregon Live reports Portland Fire Chief Sara Boone wrote in a statement, "On the surface these are horrific charges and justice needs to be served."

Boone also reportedly said she was "gravely concerned" about the incident.

Multnomah County Detention Center records show Lee and Bourland were both released on bail, but Simmons remains in jail.

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