Portland's sword-wielding "high" elf found guilty

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The sad story of Portland's BMW-attacking "high" elf appears to be drawing to a close.

After a long court case, Konrad Bass will serve one and a half years of probation.

Stories of abuse when Bass was younger and his hard-to-treat mental disorder did not sway the jury.

Oregon Live shares the story:

Deputy District Attorney Melissa Marrero pointed to the testimony of doctors to contend that the "immense amount of drugs" Bass took was the driving force in his behavior that morning. The prosecutor said statements he made during his nine-day stay in a local emergency room and the psych ward at St. Vincent Medical Center were evidence of that.

When medical staff asked him, "Why are you here?" he responded: "Because I had a bad LSD trip." Bass also said he "was trying to slash a lady's tires who wasn't being very nice to me."

Bass told a blogger, who called him up for an interview while he was in the psych ward, that he's blamed his mental illness for his wild behavior in the past.


"That's why I love being crazy. … It's my get-out-of-jail-free card," Bass was quoted as saying.

National media, including the New York Daily News and the Huffington Post, picked up on the blogger's post. During trial, Bass said he felt exploited by the blogger, who he said interviewed him while he was still manic.

Previously on Boing Boing:

"High" elf who attacked car gives Vocativ an exclusive interview

Woman attacked by car-smashing, LSD-loving 'High Elf' speaks out

Extremely 'high elf' battles evil, attacks car in Portland