Neighbor calls Florence man shot in L.A. a 'gentle, crazy freak of sorts'
FLORENCE, Ore. (AP) -- A neighbor remembers Mario Majorski, the man fatally shot Sunday in Los Angeles after wielding samurai swords at a Scientology building, as a "gentle, somewhat crazy freak of sorts."
Nevertheless, Majorski has had a number of run-ins with Oregon law enforcement and was reportedly acting oddly just weeks before he showed up in California.
Jim Cannon, who lives in a house just across the street from Majorski's home here, met him this spring and helped him paint his fence. Despite Majorski's shaved head and neck tattoos, Cannon said he wasn't "a menacing sort of guy."
If anything, Cannon said, "I found him very comical."
Majorski, 48, moved among rock n' roll circles in Eugene, a nearby university town, Cannon said.
Though a Scientology spokesman said Majorski had threatened the church in a string of incidents dating to at least 2005, Cannon said he never heard Majorski, a former member of the church, say anything critical about it.
The two men talked about Scientology, Cannon said. He got the impression that Majorski was disappointed with Scientology.
His record with Oregon police, however, describes a different man.
Majorski was released from the Lane County Jail due to overcrowding two weeks ago, the same day he was arrested by Eugene police on charges of criminal trespass and harassing a police officer at the Executive House Motel, according to The Register-Guard in Eugene. Majorski has also previously been convicted of stalking a Lane County judge, the paper reported.
In another example of his troubles with the law, Majorski was arrested in late October after threatening a man offering roadside assistance, according to Florence police.
On the morning of Oct. 26, Majorski made a call to the American Automobile Association for roadside assistance saying he had run out of gas on the road where he lived.
When the AAA driver, Doug Bushwar, arrived, he reportedly found Majorski standing next to his truck with a number of "small kids toys lined up in a row on the street" behind him.
When Bushwar walked toward the truck, Majorski yelled at him to stay where he was.
Bushwar told police that he tried to get Majorski to calm down, but when the man "grabbed a hand-held ax from his vehicle and held it in a threatening manner," Bushwar left and called the authorities.
A police officer showed up about 25 minutes later to find Majorski walking on the road. When the officer asked him to talk with him, Majorski reportedly threatened to shoot if he came any closer.
Then, Majorski walked into his house, yelling and cursing.
After a minute, Majorski "came to a window and told me to come talk to him there" the officer reported.
Majorski then told the officer he had hostages in the house. When another officer showed up to help, Majorski threatened to shoot the officers and told them he also had explosives, according to the police report.
Majorski later came back outside "yelling and screaming for us to leave."
The two officers moved in slowly and handcuffed him.
Police found no hostages or explosives in the house.
About a week later, police arrested Majorski again after he disrupted a Mormon Church service in Florence.
Police say Majorski entered the church on Nov. 2, "cursing and moving around a lot."
He was asked to leave but did not, said Sarah Huff, spokeswoman with the Florence police department.
Police arrested him outside the church on charges of disorderly conduct and criminal trespass.
(Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.)
