HILLSBORO, Ore. (February 8, 2023) — Bryan Andrew Aguilera, age 27, pled guilty to Attempted Murder in the First Degree, Burglary in the First Degree and Aggravated Harassment today, February 8, 2023. Chief Deputy District Attorney Bracken McKey prosecuted the case before Judge Erik Bucher. He was sentenced to 144 months in prison.

On March 4, 2022, Mr. Aguilera visited a Fred Meyer in Beaverton, Ore., where he shoplifted a butcher knife and meat cleaver after discretely catching a ride on the MAX Light Rail from Portland to Beaverton without payment. The defendant then traveled by foot to Center Plaza Apartments in Beaverton and knocked on an untargeted apartment door belonging to Ms. Lauren Carrier, a Beaverton resident and single mother. Upon opening the door, Mr. Aguilera stabbed Ms. Carrier 11 times in the back, neck and shoulder region. The victim used a baseball bat stored near her front door in self-defense and exited her apartment before collapsing in the apartment walkway.

Surrounding neighbors assisted in capturing Mr. Aguilera before authorities arrived. Another neighbor administered first aid to Ms. Carrier until an ambulance arrived. Ms. Carrier was taken to the Intensive Care Unit at the Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland, Ore., and treated for severe and permanent injuries.

At the time of the attempted murder, Mr. Aguilera was on parole for Robbery in the Second Degree, a Measure 11 offense. He was released less than six weeks after serving five years and 10 months in Oregon’s Department of Corrections before attempting to take the life of Ms. Carrier. Detectives at the Beaverton Police Department discovered Facebook posts on the defendant’s Facebook account referencing song lyrics to “Meat Clever,” a 2013 single describing the butchering of a woman with a meat cleaver. 

“I would like to thank Dajana Cherry for administering first aid and George Cherry and Daniel Chacon for capturing Mr. Aguilera and holding him until police arrived. Their quick thinking certainly saved Miss Carrier’s life,” said Chief Deputy District Attorney Bracken McKey.

Mr. Aguilera has remained in custody at the Washington County Jail since March 4, 2022. He will serve his 144-month prison sentence in Oregon’s Department of Corrections.