Linn County man arrested in Eugene stabbing investigation

A downtown Eugene stabbing that cut off the Washington Street and West 12th Avenue area for about three hours has now led to the arrest of a 26-year-old Linn County man.

Eugene police said the stabbing came in at 9:43 p.m. on April 23, 2026, in the heart of downtown. The victim, a 37-year-old man, was treated at the scene by Eugene police and then taken to a local hospital by Eugene Springfield Fire.

Officers from the Eugene Police Department searched for the suspect that night with help from the Lane County Sheriff’s Office and Oregon State Police, including K-9 units, but did not locate him during the initial response. The case was logged by Eugene police as 26-06037.

Police arrested Donald Riley Nelson, 26, on May 12 in Albany. He was lodged in Lane County Jail on charges of Assault in the First Degree and Unlawful Use of a Weapon.

The case added to a stretch of recent trouble tied to Nelson, who has an address in Lebanon and had also faced other charges in nearby counties, including reckless driving in Marion County and theft and burglary in Linn County. The new arrest closes one of the more disruptive violent incidents to hit downtown Eugene this spring, especially for businesses, residents and people moving through the Washington-12th corridor late at night.

For people who work, live or travel downtown, the location matters. Washington Street and West 12th Avenue sit in one of Eugene’s busiest central blocks, where late-evening traffic, foot traffic and transit all overlap. A stabbing there that forced a multi-hour shutdown left a visible hole in the center of the city while officers and emergency crews worked the scene and searched for the suspect.

Nelson’s arrest in Albany nearly three weeks after the attack marked the latest step in a case that moved from an active downtown emergency to a regional investigation spanning Eugene, Albany, Lebanon and three counties.