A man who broke into an Oregon business to steal a bag of tools is now demanding $10,000,000 in damages after the company’s owner shot him three times. Kenneth Voyles filed a lawsuit against Touchstone Granite & Marble and its owner, James Grant, seeking $5,000,000 in compensation and an additional $5,000,000 in punitive damages.
Incident Details
The shooting occurred at the company’s premises in Portland on March 6, 2023. Voyles, who claims he was homeless, cold, and sleep-deprived, entered the closed building through a damaged section of a garage door. His lawsuit states he was looking for food and a warm place, but also admits he picked up a bag containing a drill with the intention of stealing it.
Grant arrived at work around 5:30 a.m. and found Voyles inside. The two men offer dramatically different accounts of what followed. Voyles claims he immediately apologized and ran toward the garage door, with Grant chasing him while throwing a coffee mug and heavy tiles. He says he grabbed a pair of bolt cutters to protect himself but couldn’t open the locked door, and that Grant left and returned with a handgun, firing without warning.
Conflicting Accounts
Voyles alleges Grant said, ‘Yeah. You’re going to die, dude,’ before shooting him in the chest at close range and firing again as he tried to escape through the damaged door. Grant tells a different story, telling KPTV (Fox 12 Oregon): ‘It went right through my brain that he is ready to attack me. When he picked up the bolt cutter and raised it and he was starting to come at me. I was lucky I can run about 15 feet, grab my gun and came back he was just standing there still ready.’
Grant claims he ran about 15 feet to retrieve his gun because he feared for his life, and that he repeatedly ordered Voyles to get on the ground, but the intruder refused. ‘The whole thing happened so fast I finally had to shoot,’ Grant told 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.’
Aftermath and Legal Claims
Voyles escaped the building and was found by police in the street. He was taken to the hospital in stable condition; Grant was uninjured and called 911. The lawsuit says Voyles suffered a collapsed lung, penetrating wounds to his chest, and shattered bones in his right arm, requiring extensive vascular repairs and several emergency operations.
Voyles is accusing Grant of battery, assault, negligence, and intentionally inflicting emotional distress. The case highlights the legal and ethical complexities of self-defense claims in burglary situations, with the outcome likely hinging on the credibility of the two conflicting narratives.
