Collin Michael Williams, who is white, pleaded guilty to a second-degree bias crime, second-degree criminal mischief, abuse of a memorial and third-degree criminal mischief, Portland TV station KOIN reported.
Williams had worked as an engineering technician in the Clackamas County surveyor’s office, according to the station.
Clackamas County administrator Gary Schmidt told Newsweek on Friday that Williams resigned before the country completed his termination process.
“County employees discovered a swastika painted on the sidewalk outside of our campus building and reported it to me,” Schmidt said as he recalled the incident. “Our Facilities staff at my request removed the symbol overnight.”
“I am dismayed and saddened by this incident. We do not tolerate hate in Clackamas County. We do not tolerate hate crimes towards anyone,” Schmidt added.
Williams, 21, was arrested in August after knocking over candles and destroying framed photos that were placed outside a memorial that was adjacent to the Clackamas County Development Services Building. Williams’ bail was set at $100,000.
The memorial was part of a vigil for Jermelle Madison, who was held at the Clackamas County Jail in Oregon City and died from his injuries after a suicide attempt in his cell in early July, according to KOIN.
Oregon City police said that in August Williams posted on social media about defacing Madison’s memorial. His post read: “I also spray-painted a fun German windmill on the sidewalk for good measure. DM for the pic.”
Oregon City Police Chief Jim Band said at the time that the incident was being investigated as a bias crime, according to KOIN. Investigators reviewed video surveillance that showed Williams’ vehicle in the area at the time the memorial was defaced.
“We do not tolerate hate in this county,” said Clackamas County Administrator Gary Schmidt after the incident, according to the TV station. “We do not tolerate hate crimes towards anyone.”
Williams is scheduled for sentencing on January 10.
“The defendant [Williams] has plead guilty to the most serious charge Oregon allows for this conduct, which is a Class A misdemeanor. The maximum sentence for a Class A misdemeanor in Oregon is 1 year,” chief deputy at Clackamas County District Attorney’s office, Chris Owen told Newsweek on Friday.
The DA’s office is expecting an “open sentencing” in Williams’ case. This means that the defense and prosecution don’t have an agreed-upon recommendation to the court.
“We hope to send the message that such conduct will not be tolerated,” Owen said.
Madison’s grandmother, Lynette Madison, reportedly expressed her dissatisfaction with the upcoming sentence, which she heard could be 90 days in jail and 60 months of probation, according to KOIN.
“That’s a hate crime. If it had been a Black guy doing that to a white guy’s memorial, they would have given him a hell of a lot more time than that,” she said, according to KOIN. “And he bragged about it. I mean, he got on Facebook and everything else and bragged about the intent. Bragged about it being a hate crime.”
She added, “So it isn’t like a kid that made a mistake, a young man that made a mistake. He intentionally did this and set out to do it and bragged about it.”
Owen also said in a statement to Newsweek that the DA’s office disagrees with the grandmother’s statement that the potential sentencing doesn’t match up the crime Williams committed or that it is “inconsistent with sentences received by other similarly situated defendants” in Oregon.
However, he said that “nothing that happens in the criminal justice system can possibly fix the pain felt by Mr. Madison’s family.”
“The conduct of the defendant in this case was offensive and unacceptable, and requires a strong response from the criminal justice system,” Owen added.
Newsweek reached out to the Oregon City police for comment but did not hear back before publication.
In an August court hearing, prosecutors said that Williams had a history of “dangerous radical thinking” and alleged that his phone contained evidence that he had made several death threats against Oregon Governor Kate Brown.
Update 12/10/21, 7:47 p.m. ET: This article has been updated to include comments from the chief deputy at Clackamas County District Attorney’s office, Chris Owen, and the Clackamas County administrator, Gary Schmidt.
