Victor Hernandez-Lopez peeled off the bandages covering a large wound across his torso as he recalled the attack that hospitalized him. On Monday, he stood in front of the Salem City Council and, with a shaking voice, told the story of how he was stabbed while cleaning in front of a south Salem b usiness. Hernandez-Lopez, 48, was attacked with a knife after he asked a man to move from the parking lot in front of the former Rite Aid on Southeast Commercial Street, according to his testimony and police statements. The man, identified by police as Jonathon L. Jones, 58, was arrested and later admitted to the stabbing, the Salem Police Department said in a statement last week. Jones, who’s been homeless in Salem for several years, was known to live on the property, witnesses told police. Marion County Circuit Court records show he has a decades-long criminal history that includes a sexual offense and low-level assault. On the afternoon of Jan. 7, Hernandez-Lopez was working as a landscaper around a south Salem shopping center when he came across a man in a tent on the property, according to the probable cause statement for Jones’ arrest. A witness told investigators that Hernandez-Lopez was blowing leaves near Jones’ tent before the attack. Jones also had a shopping cart with his belongings, which Hernandez-Lopez tried to move after approaching him. “I move it one more time, I said, ‘It’s time to leave and I will clean it up,’” Hernandez-Lopez said in his Monday testimony. “He contested and said ‘Get out of here, leave me alone,’ (and) I said, ‘No you need to go,’ (he) said ‘No I don’t go,’ and I pushed the cart.” When he turned around, the man stabbed him, he said. A witness saw his “innards” exposed from one of the wounds, the probable cause statement said. Victor Hernandez-Lopez recalls being stabbed while working in south Salem at a Salem City Council meeting Jan. 12. (Screenshot) Hernandez-Lopez paused his telling of what happened to point out two places on his body where he was stabbed – his lower torso and the side of his chest. He peeled the bandages off of one open wound to show city councilors and officials. Hernandez-Lopez received treatment for his injuries at Salem Hospital, where staff told him he was lucky to be alive, he said.  After his arrest, Jones admitted to the stabbing and told investigators that Hernandez-Lopez “was using a leaf blower to move his property around, which angered him,” the probable cause statement said. Salem Mayor Julie Hoy posted a Facebook video Wednesday addressing Hernandez-Lopez’s testimony. She said the landscaper was trying to move Jones to keep the area “welcoming and inviting for customers.” She described Jones as “obviously” a danger to himself and others. The stabbing comes as the city is bringing more attention to addressing homelessness around Salem, most recently by expanding the work of two city teams doing outreach and cleaning services. Hoy referred to those expansions in her video but added, “We need help.” She did not respond to a Wednesday email from Salem Reporter asking for more specifics about what help she’d like to see. Jones has been in custody at the Marion County Jail since his arrest the day of the stabbing, the jail roster shows. On Friday, he was arraigned on criminal charges of first-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon, a knife. Jones appeared at the Marion County Criminal Court Annex. A few people who appeared to know him were in the audience. Hernandez-Lopez also spoke at the Friday arraignment. With a Spanish interpreter, he again recalled the attack and said he spent four days in the hospital, where he had surgery for his injuries. He’s now unable to work for six weeks, he said. He described Jones as someone who should not be out among the public. “These types of people are a danger to society,” he said through the interpreter. Jones has received homeless services from multiple providers around Salem for years, according to Jimmy Jones, executive director of the Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency, who confirmed the man is unhoused. In early December, Jones, the man arrested for the stabbing, was sentenced to a week in jail for possessing a weapon as a felon. Court records describe the weapon as a dagger. He has been charged at least six times for failing to register as a sex offender, but court records don’t name the charges for a sexual crime or say when the offense was.  Jones is a level 2 sex offender, which reflects a moderate risk of reoffending, according to Capt. Kyle Kennedy, spokesperson for the Oregon State Police. The agency, which oversees the state’s sex offender registry, declined to provide more information about the offense. Homeless people with sexual crimes in their history face more barriers to receiving long-term services and getting permanent housing, Jimmy Jones said.  Some of those barriers include apartment owners who refuse to take on insurance liability by renting to sex offenders and offenders’ inability to receive federal housing vouchers, according to Jimmy Jones. Shelters housing men, women and children often don’t allow sex offenders for safety reasons. “No matter how you feel about the issue, if you just step back and look at it logically, we would much rather have people who are on the registry in housing, receiving services, at known locations,” he said. “Housing this population is in everybody’s best interest.” The stabbing is Salem’s second in the past year that has drawn increased attention to homelessness.  A man from Bend with a history of homelessness and mental illness is accused of stabbing 11 people in June at the downtown Union Gospel Mission, one of the city’s largest homeless shelters. The mass stabbing brought to the surface an ongoing and citywide conversation about public safety and homelessness downtown that has led to an expansion of city services working at local encampments. “I’m certainly very strongly convicted that community leaders and elected officials should exercise caution when they’re talking about these things. We have seen (an) extraordinary amount of violence across the country directed toward homeless populations,” Jimmy Jones said. He referenced Russell Mikolas, a homeless man who a teenager beat to death in 2023. The teenager gave no reason for his crime. “Using this for political advantage or for purposes to exclude the homeless population is only inviting more misunderstanding and potentially violence,” he said. Contact reporter Madeleine Moore: [email protected]. LOCAL NEWS DELIVERED TO YOU: Subscribe to Salem Reporter and get all the fact-based Salem news that matters to you. Fair, accurate, trusted – SUBSCRIBE. The post Victim in recent stabbing shows wound at Salem City Council meeting appeared first on Salem Reporter. ...read more read less