A homeless man who broke into a Portland granite shop and was shot three times by the owner is suing for $10 million in damages.
Kenneth Voyles, who was homeless at the time, filed the lawsuit in Multnomah County in May against Touchstone Granite & Marble Inc. And its owner, James Grant, 47, according to court documents. Voyles accuses Grant and the business of battery, assault, negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, and is seeking $5 million in compensatory damages plus another $5 million in punitive damages.
Voyles claims he slipped into the closed business early on the morning of March 6, 2023, seeking warmth and food, and grabbed a drill bag. He admitted in court filings that he was trespassing and intended to keep the tool. The encounter turned violent when Grant arrived at the shop.
The lawsuit claims Voyles apologized immediately and ran for the door, but Grant threw a coffee mug and heavy tiles at him. Voyles then picked up bolt cutters to shield himself while trying to open a locked door, at which point Grant allegedly left and returned with a gun. Voyles said in the filing that he was shot multiple times without warning, and that after firing initial rounds, Grant told him, “You’re going to die,” before shooting him in the chest at point-blank range. Voyles claims he was shot again as he tried to squeeze back through the broken garage door.
Grant gave a different account in a March interview with KPTV. “I only shot him when he was standing looking at me ready to come at me and then I just let him go because I just wanted it to be over,” he said. Grant maintained that Voyles snatched bolt cutters and aggressively ran toward him. “It went right through my brain that he was ready to attack me,” Grant shared. “He picked up the bolt cutter and raised it, and he was starting to come at me… My life was totally in danger.”
The lawsuit alleges Voyles suffered catastrophic, life-altering injuries including a collapsed lung, severe chest wounds, and shattered bones in his right arm that required extensive vascular repair and multiple emergency surgeries. Voyles also claims Touchstone is vicariously liable, accusing the company of failing to implement basic security protocols or properly train its crew on how to deal with after-hours intruders.
Online reaction has been overwhelmingly critical of Voyles’ claims. “Dude literally admits mid complaint he planned to steal a bag of drill tools. He can’t even stop himself from lying in his legal filings,” one person wrote on a Reddit thread discussing the case. Others have called the lawsuit “frivolous” and suggested it “should fall under the theft by deception statute.”
In the viral moment that sparked the lawsuit, a homeless man broke into a Portland granite business to steal tools and ended up shot three times by the owner who discovered him. Kenneth Voyles admitted in his own court filing that he was trespassing and intended to steal a drill bag when James Grant arrived at Touchstone Granite & Marble Inc. On March 6, 2023. What happened next depends on which version of events is believed: Voyles claims he apologized and tried to flee while Grant assaulted him with thrown objects and then shot him without warning, while Grant insists he fired only when Voyles grabbed bolt cutters and appeared ready to attack him. The incident left Voyles with a collapsed lung, severe chest wounds, and multiple shattered bones requiring surgery.
No court date has been set for the lawsuit to be heard in Multnomah County Circuit Court.