Portland’s lame-duck Democratic district attorney is angling to reduce the sentences of several violent criminals, including a convicted murderer, days before his tough-on-crime replacement takes office.
Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt, who was voted out of office on Election Day, petitioned an Oregon judge on Monday to reconsider the sentences of eight individuals – which could result in reduced charges and see the convicts freed from prison, according to Oregon Live.
“These have all the appearance of a last-minute giveaway,” Multnomah County District Attorney-elect Nathan Vasquez, the Republican-turned-independent who defeated Schmidt, told the outlet.
“They’re extremely violent individuals who have committed horrible crimes, and they’re being given some kind of a break,” added Vasquez, who starts his term on Jan. 6.
Frank Swopes Jr., who was convicted of felony murder for the death of 75-year-old Jean Stevenson during a December 1993 home invasion, is among the violent offenders Schmidt is seeking to free.
Swopes Jr., 62, went on to commit another violent crime just a week after his accomplice killed Stevenson by pushing her on the floor during the robbery.
In the second robbery, Swopes Jr. tied a 76-year-old woman to her bed, “terrorized” her and “touched her sexually” after breaking into her home, according to court documents reviewed by Oregon Live.
The elderly victim also indicated that she believed Swopes Jr. “either urinated or ejaculated on her” during the home invasion.
Swopes Jr. has served 32 years of a 35-year prison sentence for his crimes.
Shane Ebberts, who pleaded guilty to charges of first-degree assault and second-degree assault for bludgeoning a college student in 1995, has already served his 7-½ year sentence but is also on Schmidt’s list.
The DA’s office is seeking to allow Ebberts, who was 17 years old when convicted, to withdraw his guilty pleas and enter a new guilty plea to a lesser charge of attempted second-degree assault.
The move, if approved by a judge, would allow Ebberts to have the crime expunged from his record.
Evan Gardner – one of the victims of Ebberts’ random attack – is strongly opposed to the liberal DA’s petition.
“Attempted my (expletive)!” Gardner told Oregon Live, noting that Schmidt’s office notified him of the petition the day before Christmas Eve.
“As a group, they inflicted irreparable harm that will stay with both of us and our families and our extended families forever,” Gardner said. “It shattered my feeling of safety.”
During the unprovoked attack, one of Ebberts’ accomplices – Brian Lawler – used a baseball bat to crack the skull of Gardner’s friend – David Clarke – while Ebberts used a mallet handle to bludgeon Gardner.
The petition notes that Clarke, who survived the attack after being placed in a medically induced coma, is “strongly against” reducing Ebberts’ assault convictions and considers the man a “danger to society.”
“He does not want updates because they send him into a tailspin,” the petition states, according to Oregon Live.
Schmidt told the outlet that the petitions are in line with similar ones he’s supported over the last year and that his office stands “for more than just convictions – but striving for justice.”
“We have an established and extensive process, including input from our community advisory board,” Schmidt said. “Each of these petitions have been considered in a thorough process over a number of months.”
“This is the same work we’ve been doing throughout my term.”
