A burglary suspect was taken into custody and is now facing a slew of charges after crashing his SUV during a police pursuit in Oregon, according to authorities.

Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a report of a burglary in the 17000 block of Southeast River Road on Tuesday at around 4 p.m.

A 911 caller had reported observing a man enter their garage and steal various items after reviewing home security footage, according to deputies.

When deputies arrived, the caller shared images of the suspect and told them that the man was driving a white Ford Explorer.

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Deputies later identified the suspect as Scotty Nicholas Oldfield. His vehicle was spotted by a deputy on Southeast Roethe Road before he sped off past the deputy.

Deputies began pursuing the vehicle and attempted to stop Oldfield. 

Oldfield eventually crashed into another occupied vehicle near Southeast Oatfield Road and Southeast Park Avenue and rolled the SUV he was driving before hitting an unoccupied parked vehicle.

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The driver of the other occupied vehicle declined medical treatment at the scene. 

Oldfield was taken into custody and transported to a local hospital to be treated for serious injuries.

When deputies searched Oldfield’s vehicle, they located suspected stolen items.

Oldfield was charged with several crimes, including second-degree burglary, first-degree theft, attempting to elude a police officer, reckless driving, reckless endangerment, DUII, identity theft, driving while suspended or revoked, third-degree assault (DUII) and criminal mischief.

Investigators later learned that Oldfield had multiple outstanding warrants out of Oregon and Washington state for charges such as failure to appear, DUII, driving while suspended, false information, identity theft, assault, reckless endangerment, robbery, malicious mischief and criminal trespass.

Investigators believe Oldfield may have targeted additional victims. Anyone with information about Oldfield’s criminal activity is urged to contact the sheriff’s office.

The media are part of the problem.

What problem? Well, there’s a long list. Take your pick.

In the pre-digital era, I used to say that cable news encouraged inflammatory rhetoric by lawmakers because so many of them wanted to break through the static and get their sound bite on the air.

Things are a thousand times more complicated now with the rise of podcasts, group chats, Snapchat, TikTok, X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, YouTube and Substack. But the principle remains the same. How, amid this deafening noise, do you get heard?

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It’s a much angrier atmosphere now, and some attribute that to President Donald Trump. But he didn’t create this environment, he just exploited it, with constant attacks on journalists, political opponents and a retribution campaign against his enemies. He is also on the receiving end of a decade of denunciations depicting him as a Nazi, fascist, dictator, danger to democracy and not a very nice person.

Another major shift is that there are so many more journalistic stars now, from legacy media to online influencers, to the point that some lawmakers have quit (or been retired) to become network and cable contributors, even anchors.

That’s why this essay in the Atlantic, by Michael Scherer, is so revealing.

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Scherer, who previously reported for Time and the Washington Post, says he feels “complicit” in the new world of endless attacks. He wrote this after attending the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner that erupted in gunfire in the third assassination attempt against President Trump – and unleashed a torrent of comments from idiots who claimed the assault was somehow “staged,” though we watched it unfold on live television. 

He listed a spate of political murders, from Charlie Kirk to the CEO of United Healthcare, and sees the cycle of political violence getting worse.

Scherer once co-authored an article about Trump comparing himself to Napoleon, Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar, with no hint of political violence, that triggered a wave of obscenity-filled attacks against the president. 

Here’s the formula: “The more a story taps an emotional vein—usually outrage or grievance—the more traffic it will tend to attract from social media. I am in the business of writing long and complicated stories full of nuance. Yet I am at the mercy of platforms that want to turn my words into cortisol and endorphins, often for people who will never click the link to read what I wrote. Regardless of my intentions, my work can fuel the false division I despise.”

And aren’t most journalists guilty of this to some degree, whether it’s squeezing a short line onto the platform previously known as Twitter, or slapping a tendentious headline on a podcast? That’s part of the escalation. 

Meanwhile, Kash Patel’s lawsuit may be taking a troubling turn.

MS NOW reported yesterday that there is concern among FBI agents that the bureau has “launched a criminal leak investigation” aimed at the Atlantic journalist who wrote the offending piece, Sarah Fitzpatrick. 

That would be strange, because the story contained no classified information. It was a negative portrayal of his conduct in office and alleged drinking habits. This would, if accurate, mean that Patel was in charge of the alleged probe while pursuing a $250-million suit against the magazine.

A bureau spokesman denied the story, saying: “This is completely false. No such investigation like this exists and the reporter you mention is not being investigated at all.” 

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“If confirmed to be true,” said Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg, “this would represent an outrageous attack on the free press and the First Amendment itself. We will defend the Atlantic and its staff vigorously; we will not be intimidated by illegitimate investigations or other acts of politically motivated retaliation.”

Take the denial for what it’s worth. But keep in mind that in January, the FBI, armed with a search warrant, entered the home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson, seized her iPhone and other devices, as part of a leak investigation and still hasn’t returned them – though they include such personal information as her wedding plans. Natanson just won a Pulitzer.