On November 27, 2023, 26-year-old Douglas Quintanilla pleaded guilty to Attempted Robbery and Bias Crime in the First Degree. The guilty pleas resulted from an incident that took place on October 7, 2023. On that date, Quintanilla entered the Safeway on 3380 Lancaster Dr. NE in Salem. Quintanilla grabbed various items for sale by Safeway, then left the store without having paid for these items. The victim, James Murphy (Murphy), is a loss prevention officer for Safeway. Murphy is transgender and prefers the term male to female transitional. Murphy tried to stop Quintanilla when it became apparent that Quintanilla had no intention of paying for the items. When Murphy stopped Quintanilla by the exit doors and grabbed the bag where Quintanilla had placed the stolen items, Quintanilla then pulled on the bag to get it away from Murphy. Quintanilla then threatened to stab Murphy and reached into his pocket as if he had a knife. Thinking that he was about to get stabbed, Murphy let go of Quintanilla’s bag.  It was at this time that Quintanilla called Murphy a slur which is highly offensive toward the LGBTQ+ community. This slur was said multiple times, directly to Murphy’s face, and with great indignation. Police were promptly called and arrested Quintanilla who was a short distance away from Safeway.

While pleading guilty to Attempted Robbery 2 and Bias Crime 1 on 23CR49233, Quintanilla also pleaded guilty to two additional misdemeanor thefts (from the Target on Lancaster) and a probation violation on another case. Defense attorney David Kuhns had arranged for Quintanilla to enter inpatient drug treatment at City Team in Portland. Marion County Circuit Court Judge, Daniel J. Wren, required that successful completion of drug treatment is an expressed requirement of Quintanilla’s probation. During his 3 years of supervised probation, Quintanilla is to have no contact with Murphy, no physical presence at Safeway or Target, and to obey all laws. Should Quintanilla violate the terms of his probation and his probation be revoked, he faces 21 to 24 months in prison.

In a unique conclusion to this matter, Quintanilla wrote an apology letter to Murphy, who was present at Quintanilla’s sentencing. Murphy also had the opportunity to speak directly to the victim, but also to Judge Wren. For Murphy, this was about more than being the victim of an attempted robbery.  Due to the hateful names Murphy was called, Murphy not only lost interest in his job, but he lost interest in living for a couple of weeks. Despite going through this dark period, Murphy stated he wished that this was truly a turning point for Quintanilla and that Quintanilla make the most of this last chance he was given.

The Marion County District Attorney’s Office would like to thank the Salem Police Department in its prompt and thorough investigation into this matter. But, most of all, the District Attorney’s Office would like to thank Murphy for his participation in yesterday’s sentencing, re-enforcing the District Attorney’s commitment that Bias type crimes will not be tolerated in Marion County.