Michael Grover Phill, 71, has been acquitted of attempted murder after shooting a man who exposed himself and threatened to sexually assault Phill’s partner on a Portland MAX train.
Phill, 71, was convicted only of unlawful firearm possession and being a felon in possession of a weapon following a jury trial at Multnomah County Circuit Court earlier this month. He was sentenced to roughly two years in prison last week, far short of the approximately 10 years he could have faced if convicted on all counts including attempted murder and assault.
The shooting occurred in the early hours of Jan. 30 on a north Portland MAX train. Lance Hicks, 40, who has a history of mental illness, boarded the train and approached Phill and his partner while exposing himself and making threats.
“All of the crotch of his pants is cut out, and his penis is in his hand, and he’s snarling,” Phill told the judge during his trial.
Hicks threatened to rob Phill and to rape his partner, who is legally blind due to lost peripheral vision, stands under 5 feet tall, and weighs less than 100 pounds. The couple attempted to leave, but Hicks continued advancing toward them.
Phill said he shouted a warning before firing. “Do not run up on me!” he yelled at Hicks, who kept coming toward him.
“I’m sorry to say that I had to [shoot him]. I didn’t want to,” Phill told his defense attorney, Henry Oostrom-Shah during the proceedings.
Phill, who wears an eyepatch due to glaucoma and a cataract, testified that he carries a gun because of previous attacks. He told the judge he had been assaulted three times during his 50 years in Portland, and once in California when a man struck him in the head with an empty 40-ounce beer bottle.
“On the transportation system, you know it seems you run into all types of crazy people,” Phill said.
After shooting Hicks once in the thigh, Phill threw the gun in bushes, removed his coat, and fled. A Portland police officer spotted him and he was later arrested.
Phill explained his flight to the judge, citing his criminal record and his fear of how the incident would be perceived. “Black men accused of shooting in Portland late at night? I’ve had my difficulties, you know my past with the law, so it wasn’t going to be good,” he testified.
“I ain’t no rat, you know. So I was just trying to get away from him,” he continued, adding that he was frightened. He also said he didn’t want to get either himself or Hicks in trouble.
Judge Eric Dahlin declined defense attorney Oostrom-Shah’s request for probation only, citing Phill’s age, poor health, and the decade since his last felony conviction. “I can’t and won’t punish him for the actual shooting. But I do believe that simply having the gun in his possession … may have emboldened him to do things that a reasonable person wouldn’t have done otherwise,” Dahlin said at sentencing.
Deputy District Attorney Branden Meadows criticized Phill’s decision to carry a weapon on the train, where firearms are forbidden under TriMet rules. “This shooting on TriMet never would have happened had Mr. Phill not possessed a firearm,” Meadows said in a statement. “Perhaps he would have made better choices that evening,” he added, noting that security officers had been on board and Phill could have pressed the call button for help.
Hicks was not charged with any crimes for his actions that night, including indecent exposure. Meadows said his apparent mental health problems would have made it difficult to prove intent. In 2023, Hicks was convicted of public indecency on a MAX train in Hillsboro after an operator reported seeing him expose himself and masturbate. Hicks did not testify at Phill’s trial or attend the sentencing hearing, and was unable to give police an interview after the shooting due to what officers described as his confused mental state.
