Oregon Man Accused Of Downtown Portland Hate Crime For Allegedly Targeting Gay Men, Gets Probation

A 39-year-old Molalla man who was accused of yelling anti-gay slurs at a pair of men holding hands in downtown Portland—and assaulting one of them—was sentenced Monday to 18 months of probation.
Paul Anthony Martinson pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree criminal mischief, moments before Judge Jerry Hodson approved the plea deal. The deal requires that Martinson pay $4,200 for smashing the windows and slashing the tires and seats of the car the victims arrived in. The car was totaled.
Martinson originally was charged with multiple crimes—including first-degree intimidation, which is a hate crime. But his attorney, Kathleen Dunn, said she was prepared to argue in trial this week that the incident wasn’t motivated by gay bias. She said her client was acting in self-defense and was fighting all of the charges except the one that accused him of damaging the car.