Portland ‘cop watcher’ pleads guilty to firearms charge

PORTLAND – A so-called “cop watcher” who angered Portland police and prosecutors by showing up at their homes has pleaded guilty in federal court to using a firearms despite a felony record.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reported 36-year-old Christopher Ryan Ponte pleaded guilty Friday, admitting that on Jan. 28 he joined co-workers at a campsite in Estacada and held and fired three guns that belonged to others.

Ponte was convicted a year earlier of felony possession of a stolen vehicle.

Under a plea deal, prosecutors and Ponte’s defense lawyer will recommend that Ponte face a year and one day in prison when he’s sentenced in April.

Ponte started a group called Oregon Cop Block and had filmed the homes of a former police chief, a police captain and a deputy district attorney.