'Bock bock, you next': Man harassing peacocks tried to murder man who confronted him

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A man will spend more than seven years in prison after he was convicted of shooting a man who confronted him while he harassed a flock of peacocks in Southeast Portland.

On Sept. 29, 2023, officials said Dylan Levi Rhoads was harassing peacocks across the street of the victim’s home when the victim asked him to stop.

In response, Rhoads said, “Bock, bock, bock, you next” and “we can bang right now.” The man went back into his house and waited for Rhoads to drive away. 

“When he thought it was clear, he went back out to his car to leave and made it a couple blocks to the next intersection and saw that they were waiting for him there,” according to the Multnomah County DA’s office. “The driver shot at the victim from the driver’s seat of their vehicle.”

Investigators said they found five shell casings in the street and multiple bullet strikes on the car. They said the bullets “grazed” the victim, but he was not seriously injured. 

Officials said it was because “he had installed a special, heavy duty seat in his vehicle which stopped one of the bullets from hitting him.”

Rhoads pleaded guilty to second-degree attempted murder with a firearm and unlawful use of a weapon, but the Multnomah County DA’s office said Rhoads also resolved eight cases against him.

“This defendant had a clear pattern of escalating, dangerous, criminal behavior. And yet he was repeatedly released after being arrested for his earlier crimes,” Deputy District Attorney Eric Palmer said. “I believe the system failed here — failed both the victims and the defendant.”