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http://oregonlive.com>
Portland hate crime defendant who went on the run avoids prison in plea
deal
Updated: Nov. 15, 2023, 3:36 p.m.|Published: Nov. 15, 2023, 3:30 p.m.
Sentencing hearing
Mark Arelious Franklyn, 47, was sentenced on Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023.Motoya Nakamura / Multnomah County
By Aimee Green | The Oregonian/OregonLive
A judge Tuesday sentenced a man to probation instead of prison more than
two years after he wielded a knife at a Filipino American stranger,
uttered an anti-Asian slur and pummeled the stranger's head, causing a
brain injury. The man later fled to Idaho before The
Oregonian/OregonLive's reporting led to his arrest.
Oregon's sentencing guidelines call for 15 to 18 months of prison for Mark Arelious Franklyn based on the charges prosecutors pursued. But Multnomah County Circuit Judge Jenna Plank sentenced Franklyn to 110 days in jail,
as part of a plea deal recommended by the Multnomah County District
Attorney's Office and Franklyn's public defender. That's the precise
amount of time Franklyn already had spent in Multnomah County jail. He was released hours after the hearing.
This past summer, the DA's office's handling of the case sparked criticism
from five former deputy Multnomah County prosecutors after The Oregonian/OregonLive asked them about a series of choices that brought its prosecution to a standstill.
The DA's office has defended its prosecution of the case, and Deputy
District Attorney Kristen Kyle-Castelli told the judge Tuesday that the
victim was in "full support" of the plea deal. However, the victim told
The Oregonian/OregonLive that they felt disappointed.
"I don't think (prosecutors) took it as seriously as they should have,"
said Dennis Cote, a 39-year-old graduate student. "This is really a hard learning experience for me. Learning that you don't always find justice in
the world."
A man poses for a portrait in downtown Portland, framed by Christmas
lights strung around trees
Reports of hate crimes and incidents to the state's Bias Response Hotline continue to rise each year, with the numbers nearly tripling in the past
three years. But prosecutions lag far behind statewide.
Cote said they had just left a Starbucks in Southeast Portland on an
October 2021 afternoon when Franklyn used a knife to poke Cote's backpack
from behind, uttered the slur and slashed at their hand, leaving a small
wound. Cote responded by throwing their coffee on Franklyn, who chased
Cote, knocking them to the ground and punching their face until a driver
pulled over and intervened.
Cote said they suffered a broken nose that interferes with their breathing
and a concussion that still blurs their vision, making it difficult to
read, write and concentrate. They also experience anxiety going out in
public, fearful that someone will approach them from behind on the
sidewalk once again and attack them because of their race.
The DA's office charged Franklyn with misdemeanor fourth-degree assault
and not second-degree assault, a Measure 11 crime that calls for a
mandatory 70 months in prison. All five former prosecutors contacted by
the news organization said Franklyn's use of the knife or the victim's concussion, which is a type of traumatic brain injury, would have prompted
them to pursue a Measure 11 crime.
The lack of a more serious assault charge also led judges to release
Franklyn from jail after his initial arrest and allow him to visit Idaho,
where he remained on the lam for 15 months because prosecutors didn't
press then Gov. Kate Brown in 2022. After The Oregonian/OregonLive
informed Gov. Tina Kotek's office and Idaho police about the case in
summer 2023, the governor approved Franklyn's extradition and police
arrested him in August.
In court Tuesday, prosecutor Kyle-Castelli told the judge she didn't think
she had the evidence to prove Franklyn's hate-based attack amounted to
Measure 11 second-degree assault. The wound from the knife was too small
to meet the definition of that crime, she said.
In an email, the DA's office also said while "a concussion may rise to the level of serious physical injury" they "conducted a thorough review" of
the victim's medical records and talked to a medical expert before
deciding not to proceed with a second-degree assault charge.
Franklyn's defense attorney, Kate McMurchie, said her client doesn't
remember the attack because he was abusing substances. He told jailers
after his October 2021 arrest that he used methamphetamine and marijuana
at times. Franklyn told the judge he's been sober for "over two years."
Franklyn pleaded no contest to fourth-degree assault and first-degree bias crime. As part of the plea agreement, the judge dismissed two other
charges – unlawful use of a weapon and menacing. On top of probation and
the time he's already served in jail, Franklyn also was ordered to eight
hours of anger management and to undergo a drug and alcohol evaluation to assess if he needs treatment.
Though Franklyn was released from jail Tuesday evening on this case, he
had to post $200 bail on another case in which he's accused of violating a stalking order by contacting a former girlfriend.
Cote, the hate-crime victim, said they had been hoping for an apology
during Tuesday's hearing, but Franklyn didn't offer one.
"He was given the chance," Cote said. "It would have meant a lot to me."
-- Aimee Green;
agreen@oregonian.com; @o_aimee
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