FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE     

FEBRUARY 11, 2019

Marcus Gunther receives prison & treatment sentence for causing $30,000 in damages by illegally spray-painting

Today, Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill announced that, 30-year-old Marcus Gunther changed his plea and was sentenced for causing nearly $30,000 in damages by illegally spray-painting on private property.

"This is a sentence that holds Marcus Gunther accountable for his repeated acts of spraying graffiti without permission,” Multnomah County Senior Deputy District Attorney Nathan Vasquez, who prosecuted this case, said after sentencing. “It also provides Mr. Gunther an opportunity at treatment, which will benefit him and our entire community.”

Gunther was arrested September 13, 2018 by members of the Portland Police Bureau.

The change of plea and sentencing hearing occurred on February 8, 2019.

Gunther was responsible for numerous acts of vandalism throughout Portland, Oregon.

Primarily, he was spray-painting his "tag" on private property, which included Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) property.

This was a carefully negotiated pre-trial settlement that took into account numerous mitigating and aggravating factors.

Gunther pleaded guilty to four counts of criminal mischief in the first degree and one count of criminal mischief in the second degree.

Gunther received a two year prison sentence and will be enrolled in START (Success through Accountability, Restitution and Treatment) Court for five years upon his release.

He will have to pay approximately $30,000 in restitution.

The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office recognizes the numerous patrol officers from the Portland Police Bureau’s Central Precinct and North Precinct and the Street Crimes Unit (SCU) from both precincts for their dedicated efforts investigating this case.

This case was litigated by the Strategic Prosecution Unit within the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office, which reviews cases that stem from neighborhood-specific concerns. The unit is primarily responsible for interfacing with the community over specific issues, and handles all types of cases across the criminal justice spectrum to include misdemeanors and homicides.

START is a drug treatment court for adults convicted of property offenses and who have an addiction to drugs and/or alcohol. Participants attend substance abuse treatment, are supervised by an assigned probation officer, attend court regularly, and submit to random drug testing.

#MCDA#

Contact: Brent Weisberg, Communications Director

Phone: 503.988.6567

Email: Brent.Weisberg@mcda.us