PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The man accused of driving his truck through the Grand Floral Parade over the weekend made his first court appearance Monday.
The suspect, 42-year-old Sidney Sean Mecham, has a lengthy criminal history and is a registered sex offender. Court documents show that Mecham was first charged with multiple sex crimes in Multnomah County in 1996. While the nine sexual abuse charges filed against Mecham in 1996 were dismissed, he was ultimately found guilty of three counts of attempting to commit a Class A felony and was required to register as a sex offender in 1999.
Mecham pleaded not guilty during his court appearance Monday, claiming he was disoriented.
Areff Mohammed Ali was attending the parade with his wife and children when he saw the truck drive into the route, which was when he began filming.
“I was like ‘ok, someone is trying to do something’, so I started recording,” he said.
Ali also said that both he and his family are ok, but said that “it was pretty scary.”
“He was on the curb, and once he was off, he pressed on the gas and kept on going. And then he almost lost (control) and almost hit multiple families when my video starts,” he said. “I was definitely in shock once I saw what happened.”
Mecham now faces new charges of reckless endangerment, disorderly conduct, attempt to elude, reckless driving and a hit-and-run charge. He’s due back in court on Tuesday.
“I’m glad to hear no one was injured,” Ali said.
