Photos of stolen truck: [ 1 ] [ 2 ]
Please refer to Clackamas County Sheriff's Case # 10-23864
A Wilsonville man reports that he encountered an armed male subject inside his home who demanded food and money and then shot him in the back of the head. The victim, Donald Ray Barham, 53, is exceedingly fortunate considering his reported encounter with an armed intruder inside his home on Tuesday afternoon (Aug. 3, 2010). From what Clackamas County Sheriff's Office investigators have been able to determine at this writing, the following events occurred early last week:
Donald Barham is employed as a cook at a Wilsonville bowling alley, and failed to show up for his shift on Tuesday afternoon (Aug. 3). A friend of Mr. Barham's knew missing work was out of character for him -- and went to Barham's residence at 16150 Wilsonville Rd. to check on his friend's welfare.
On Wednesday morning (Aug. 4), this concerned friend discovered Barham on the floor inside the Barham residence. Barham appeared to have been injured, and was incoherent. Medical personnel were summoned to the scene, and Barham was transported to a local hospital for an evaluation.
After arriving at the hospital, medical personnel discovered a head injury -- suspected to be a gunshot wound -- which Barham had received to his head along the hairline. Clackamas County Sheriff's Office detectives were alerted by hospital staff about the suspicious wound, and the Sheriff's Office launched a criminal investigation.
Although Barham was conscious and breathing when first discovered inside his residence on Wednesday morning (Aug. 4), specific details of the events leading to his injury were not immediately available from the victim while his medical needs were being addressed. Barham has undergone extensive surgery, and was only able to converse with the lead investigator on this case earlier today (Friday afternoon, Aug. 6).
It is also known that Barham's maroon-colored Toyota Tacoma pickup truck had been stolen from the residence and found crashed in front of a rural residence located at 29281 S. Molalla Forest Rd. in Molalla. This abandoned vehicle was reported to the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office by a property owner on this roadway, and was eventually recovered as stolen on Thursday (Aug. 5) by investigators. (Photos of the stolen truck are linked above.)
In addition, personal property stolen from Barham was found in a recycle container in an alley inside Molalla city limit and reported to police by a citizen. With the help of Molalla Police, these recovered items have been retained as evidence.
Initially, Sheriff's Office investigators were not sure what had actually happened to Barham at his residence. It was not until today (Friday, Aug. 6, 2010) that Barham had recovered enough from his medical procedures -- which included surgically removing a metal object from his head -- that detectives were able to obtain a coherent interview with the victim.
During this interview, Barham told investigators he arrived at his home on Tuesday afternoon (Aug. 3) when he discovered an intruder inside his home. During the resulting confrontation, the male suspect -- who is believed to have been armed with a semi-automatic handgun -- demanded first food and then money from Barham.
Shortly after these demands were made by the suspect, Barham is believed to have been shot in the head by the suspect.
Investigators have a limited suspect description at this time. It is hopeful with time -- as Barham physically and mentally recovers from this attempted murder -- additional details will emerge. The present suspect description is as follows: