Background: Joseph Chastain (KATU). Inset: The hatchet used in the attack (Portland Police Bureau).
An Oregon man who attacked a man with a hatchet outside the victim’s home after a road rage incident has learned his fate.
Joseph K. Chastain, aged 33, has been sentenced to 42 months in prison, which equals three and a half years, for the incident in 2023 where Matt Griffin was injured. Chastain received his sentence after admitting guilt to charges of attempted first-degree assault.
Expressing his ordeal, Griffin stated to Multnomah County Circuit Judge Kelly Skye that “Mr. Chastain had the intention of attacking me, and after a violent attempt on my life, he succeeded,” as reported by The Oregonian.
The road rage incident happened on Aug. 12, 2023, just before 11 p.m. when Chastain cut Griffin off on a road, and Griffin honked at him.
Then, Chastain chased after him.
During the confrontation at Griffin’s residence, Chastain exited his vehicle holding a dark object. Griffin believed it to be a gun and feared for his life, according to local CBS affiliate KOIN. Griffin armed himself with a hatchet, but Chastain seized it from him and used it to assault him before fleeing the scene. Griffin sustained two fractured bones and a 6-inch long cut on his leg, which law enforcement applied a tourniquet to in order to stop the bleeding.
Police arrested Chastain months later at his home, where they found the hatchet.
At trial, Chastain’s attorney claimed the victim’s wound was self-inflicted, saying a biomechanics expert and radiologist determined it was consistent with a “swing and a miss” injury.
Griffin called out that claim in court.
“Not only is Mr. Chastain a rage-filled manic, he’s also a disgusting liar,” Griffin said, The Oregonian reported.
Prosecutors said there was no doubt about what happened that night, the newspaper reported.
