A man took the wedding ring off the finger of a man who died in last week's knife attack aboard a Portland train, city police said Friday.
George Tschaggeny was wearing Ricky Best's ring when officers arrested him Friday morning beneath an overpass, Sgt. Pete Simpson said.
The 51-year-old man will be arraigned Monday on charges of theft, tampering with physical evidence and abuse of a corpse. He does not yet have a lawyer.
"It's just unconscionable to do what he did," Simpson said.
Best, 53, was one of three men who were stabbed May 26 after confronting a passenger who went into a racist rant. Best died on the train and another victim died at a hospital.
Amid the horror and chaos, Simpson said, Tschaggeny removed the ring from Best's finger and stole his backpack. He said surveillance video supports the charges.
Officers recovered the backpack, but a camouflage wallet that contained phone numbers important to Best's family was missing. Simpson urged whoever has the wallet to return it.
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Tips poured in Thursday night after police released surveillance images and video of the suspect. Investigators determined the thief was a man who lives in a small homeless camp near the platform where the train stopped after the attack.
"People in the community saw this and felt the understandable rage that I think everybody felt," Simpson said. "It's an added layer of tragedy for this family."
Jeremy Christian, 35, has been charged with aggravated murder in the deaths of Best and 23-year-old Taliesin Namkai-Meche. He has not entered a plea.