SALEM (AP) - A 23-year-old Coos Bay man has been jailed on charges of using a boxcutter to slit the throat of an auctioneer in Woodburn.

Jeremiah D. Thomasson made a brief court appearance Wednesday on the charges of attempted murder and assault. He was assigned a lawyer and held without bail. He is to be in court again next week.



The incident happened late Tuesday morning when a young man armed with a box knife attacked a Woodburn Auction Yard employee, slashing the man's throat. Auctioneer Chuck Boyce had just finished an auction selling farm equipment and other items when he was attacked, a Marion County sheriff's spokeswoman said.

News reports from the Salem area said a man identified as Thomasson sat through the auction and wanted to bid $1 for an item, but the auction had limited bids to no lower than $2. The man reportedly became angry and later attacked the auctioneer from behind.

Police searched the area for about three hours. They arrested Thomasson at a trailer court about a mile away.

Marion County sheriff's Lt. Sheila Lorance said Thomasson invoked his Miranda right to silence, so investigators did not ask him about his motive.

Boyce was reported in good condition at a Portland hospital after the attack. He told reporters there was, in his mind, "no reason, nothing justifiable, to do something like this."

In Coos County, Thomasson is scheduled to go to trial in August on a charge of second-degree criminal trespassing, according to a state courts official in Coquille. He also has a minor in possession of alcohol conviction from 2004.