Former OSU Student Convicted of Hate Crime Pleads Guilty to New Charge

CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) – A former Oregon State University graduate student convicted of a hate crime last year has pleaded guilty to another charge.

The Corvallis Gazette-Times reported Thursday that 29-year-old Andrew Joseph Oswalt pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal mischief in Benton County court Wednesday for damaging a sign in July 2017.

Oswalt agreed to a sentence including 12 months of probation, 40 hours of community service, restitution, and fees.

Prosecutors say Oswalt defaced a lawn sign in Corvallis with a sticker featuring the same racist message that resulted in an earlier conviction.

Oswalt was found guilty in November of first-degree intimidation, a felony hate crime, for placing racist bumper stickers on the cars of activists in June 2017 in the city 83 miles (134 kilometers) south of Portland.
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Information from: Gazette-Times, http://www.gtconnect.com