A white Oregon man accused of brutally attacking a Black food truck owner in southeast Portland last year has been sentenced to three years in prison, a Multnomah County Circuit Court judge ruled on Wednesday.
Daniel Thomas Warren, 40, pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree assault and no contest to one count of a first-degree bias crime earlier this month, according to the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office. A bias crime in Oregon is the equivalent of a hate crime. Both crimes are C felonies in Oregon, meaning Warren faced up to five years in prison, a fine up to $125,000, or both.
The charges stemmed from the racially motivated attack on LoRell’s Chicken Shack owner Darell Preston on June 15, 2023, during which Warren spewed racial slurs at Preston outside of his food truck while the small business owner was delivering food, according to the Portland Police Bureau.
The judge informed Warren he has to complete a set of rehabilitation programs and drug treatment requirements to address the crime, Preston’s attorney, Alicia LeDuc Montgomery, told Atlanta Black Star in an email on Wednesday.
“This case underscores the power of community-led justice. The swift and decisive action from Portland residents sent a clear message: victims must be taken seriously and those responsible for bias-motivated violence held accountable,” the attorney said in a statement.
Warren has a long criminal record in Oregon that includes assault, coercion, harassment and strangulation, according to KGW8.
The unprovoked attack last year unfolded in broad daylight on the sidewalk in front of Preston’s business and was captured on surveillance footage and cellphone video from witnesses. “I hit you, N—er. Stay on the ground!” LeDuc Montgomery previously quoted the attacker as allegedly saying.
“Darell was attacked by what onlookers describe to be a skinhead,” according to a LoRell’s Chicken Shack Facebook post last June.
The post said that the suspect attacked Preston, who was 36 at the time, from behind and stomped his face in.
The attack left Preston with a fractured face, a broken nose, a fractured face and several lacerations to his eyes and mouth, Atlanta Black Star reported previously.
Preston’s attorney said last year that despite witnesses to the attack driving by, no one stopped to help Preston. A video from TikToker Michael McWhorter was credited with helping police locate Warren, who had left the scene of the attack by the time authorities arrived.
McWhorter’s clip showed Warren beating and kicking Preston while drivers were heard honking their horns.
LeDuc Montgomery said in a previous statement to Atlanta Black Star that Portlanders spreading word of the attack online also contributed to authorities finding and arresting Warren, who was taken into custody on July 2.
The Preston family appeared at the sentencing hearing and read a victim impact statement describing the lasting impact of the hate crime on the family.
Preston said growing up on the West Side of Chicago, he was never before afraid to go anywhere or be around any type of person, but the attack he experienced has changed that.
“After being attacked by Daniel, I now look over my shoulder three or more times everywhere I go which aren’t many places or even that often anymore. I won’t even sit with my back facing the exits at a restaurant, afraid of the unknown of what’s behind me,” Preston wrote in his statement.
He said he’s since woken up on several occasions with deep sweats “from nightmares of that day, which I wish never happened,” wrote Preston, who says his facial injuries still remind him of that day.
His customers regularly check on him, he said. “Because of them and their support and belief in me, no matter the tragedy that happened, I continue to serve my community and be the example of a kindhearted Black man my mother raised, and my wife and daughters need,” Preston said.
Donations toward a GoFundMe campaign set up to help Preston had reached more than $92,000 by Wednesday.
