The Multnomah County district attorney announced Saturday a man was sentenced to 90 days in jail for an altercation in which he spat in a Ukrainian immigrant’s face and told the person to “go back to your own country.”
Harold Denson, 37, also threatened the victim with a box cutter.
Denson’s jail sentence is specifically for the unlawful use of a weapon in that altercation.
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The investigation into Denson’s actions began Aug. 25 when the victim, the manager of a Portland car dealership, was told that someone on the property had “thrown trash all over.” The victim grabbed a trash bag and approached the person, later identified as Denson. He gave Denson the trash bag and ordered him to clean up the area.
Denson initially said thank you, according to a news release from the district attorney’s office, but then suddenly became agitated and started yelling that the car dealership was not the victim’s property but “American soil.”
Denson then asked the victim where he was from, became more agitated and spat in the victim’s face, telling him to go back to his own country. He then picked up a box cutter with the blade extended and threatened to cut the victim.
On Friday, Denson pleaded no contest to one count of unlawful use of a weapon and one count of second-degree bias crime.
In addition to his 90-day sentence for unlawful use of a weapon, the court has ordered him to write a 500-word essay on the challenges immigrants face. If the court accepts his essay, Denson’s bias crime charge will be dismissed.
“This is a unique resolution to a very serious incident,” Nicole Hermann, Multnomah County deputy district attorney, said in a news release. “Mr. Denson needs to understand the impact his actions had on the victim and our immigrant communities. This is an opportunity for him to reconcile his behavior through compassion, learning and understanding.”
If he does not complete the essay by March or the court does not accept it, Denson will be convicted of committing a bias crime and could face additional penalties.
