The former owner of a Portland auto repair shop who was jailed over multiple alleged sexual assaults is now accused of hiring two men to kill one of his accusers, the Washington County Sheriff's Office said Monday.
Dru Hendrix, 58, was arrested back in July after a 20-year-old woman said she was held against her will and sexually assaulted at a home in Aloha. Hendrix was also accused of sexually assaulting a man in his 80s at the same home.
Over the intervening months, several tips poured in about Hendrix's "predatory behavior" dating back many years, WCSO said in September. Hendrix was also indicted in Columbia County in August on charges including kidnapping and sex abuse. Between his various cases, WCSO said, Hendrix faces some 35 counts thus far.
While in the Washington County jail, Hendrix became acquainted with 50-year-old Mario Guaderrama and 36-year-old Zion Unga. Guaderrama had been arrested in September for violating the terms of his release and failing to appear in court for a previous case, while Unga was arrested in August for possession of a stolen vehicle and other charges.
During their time in custody together, WCSO said, the trio planned to murder the young woman who'd first reported Hendrix to police. Hendrix put $30,000 into Guaderrama's jail booking account, the sheriff's office said, and made arrangements to pay Unga $30,000 upon his release from jail in October.
Unga was the only one of the three to be released from jail before the plot was discovered. Detectives arrested him on Thursday, Nov. 6. That same day, detectives executed a search warrant at a Hillsboro home linked to Guaderrama, WCSO said, where they seized three handguns, a rifle, a silencer, a switchblade knife and brass knuckles.
Detectives also seized about $140,000 from accounts connected to the three suspects.All three men were charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and Hendrix was given additional charges of solicitation to commit first-degree murder and tampering with a witness.
