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SUNNY Temp: 71 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Friday, August 1, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend July 24, 2003 Guardsman pleads guilty to hate attacks By SARAH LEMON Mail Tribune An Oregon National Guardsman pleaded guilty Wednesday to his part in several hate-related attacks earlier this year. Andrew James Patterson, 24, of Eagle Point pleaded guilty in Jackson County Circuit Court to charges of second- and third-degree assault. He faces a minimum prison sentence of five years and 10 months under state law. Sentencing is slated for August. Also charged in the case was 26-year-old Aaron Andrew St. James of Medford, who pleaded guilty in May to charges of third-degree assault and first-degree intimidation. St. James will hear his sentence Tuesday. Patterson and St. James will be discharged from the National Guard once officers receive paperwork on their convictions, said National Guard Capt. Chet Cary in Ashland. Advertisement Along with their friend and fellow Guard member, 21-year-old Chadwick James Ritchie, Patterson and St. James beat a homeless man on Jan. 30. The trio then attacked a Medford motel owner whom they believed was an Arab, police said. After the attacks, Ritchie ran from the motel to the parking lot of Shari's restaurant on Stewart Avenue and shot himself to death. The attacks were the last in a string of January hate crimes, investigators said. Police also connected Ritchie and Patterson to the reported beatings of another homeless man, whom the attackers called a "disgrace to his race," on Jan. 10 and Jan. 14, said Medford police Lt. Mike Moran. In their final confrontation with the man, Patterson and Ritchie dragged him across Biddle Road and down an embankment where passing cars would not see them beating him with a wooden baseball bat, police said. They had sneaked up on the man, grabbed him from behind and threatened to kill him for calling police about the previous attack, Moran added. Ritchie and Patterson were sent home in August from a peace-keeping mission in the Sinai after they set fire to a barracks, National Guard officials said. Patterson and Ritchie were ordered not to associate with each other. Patterson remained in the Jackson County Jail Wednesday. St. James was released from jail after pleading guilty. Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected] . Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Rogue Valley Auto Finder Rogue Valley Job Finder --> Rogue Valley Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times