Suspect arrested weeks after downtown Eugene stabbing shutdown

Downtown Eugene’s Washington Street corridor has a named suspect weeks after a stabbing at 12th and Washington shut the block down for more than three hours and sent police, businesses and late-night travelers into a scramble.

The victim was taken to a local hospital after the 9:43 p.m. attack on April 23, and officers called in K-9 teams from the Lane County Sheriff’s Office and Oregon State Police to search for the suspect. No one was found at the scene that night, and northbound Washington Street between 12th and 11th Alley stayed closed until 12:54 a.m. That is the kind of interruption downtown merchants, bar staff, transit riders and nearby workers notice immediately, especially in a part of Eugene where perceptions of safety can change fast after dark.

Investigators later booked Donald Riley Nelson, 26, into Lane County Jail on charges of assault and unlawful use of a weapon. Nelson, who has an address in Lebanon, was scheduled for arraignment May 12. Court records also show he was charged in other criminal cases over the prior month, including reckless driving in Marion County and theft and burglary in Linn County.

The arrest gives downtown businesses and residents a clearer picture of what happened in one of Eugene’s busiest nighttime corridors, but it does not erase the broader question hanging over the area: whether this was an isolated violent episode or another sign of a persistent public safety problem. For restaurants, bars and workers along the downtown grid, the immediate impact was concrete. A central street closed, patrol cars and search teams filled the area, and a block that normally feeds foot traffic after dinner instead became a scene to avoid.

Eugene police say the Violent Crimes Unit handles violent-crime investigations and supports prosecution in cases like this one. That means the case now shifts from an open street response to a court process, with a named defendant, specific charges and a timeline that can be followed through the justice system. For downtown Eugene, the arrest explains one violent night in April. It does not by itself settle the larger safety question, but it does move the case from uncertainty toward accountability.