Man pleads guilty except for insanity in Redmond motel hate-crime assault
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) –A man accused of attempted murder and a hate crime in an attack on a Redmond motel co-owner pleaded guilty except for insanity Tuesday to a bias crime, burglary and assault and was sentenced to 20 years in the custody of the state Psychiatric Review Board.
The plea deal and sentencing came two days before a scheduled two-day trial for James David Lamb Jr., who was staying at the Hub Motel in Redmond on Dec. 31 when he broke into the manager’s office and attacked the motel’s 70-year-old co-owner, seriously injuring her.
The woman's husband said Lamb asked to use the phone for a long-distance call and she said he should come back in the morning. Lamb grabbed her hair through the night window, then used a large ashtray to bash in the office door and attacked the woman.
Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel said Lamb was charged with bias crimes based on statements about the woman’s country of origin and “his expressed desire to rid America of people like her.”
Lamb was identified by police as a Eugene resident but in court documents as a Portland resident.
He was indicted on charges of second-degree attempted murder, two counts of first-degree bias crime, first-degree burglary, strangulation, menacing, second-degree criminal mischief and second-degree assault. Tuesday’s pleas involved three of those charges.
Lamb appeared in a jail uniform and restraints for Tuesday’s proceedings before Circuit Judge Randy Miller. The victim and her daughter and son took part by phone.
Miller said he’d read the psychological evaluation of Lamb and accepted the plea, as Deputy District Attorney Matthew Nelson asked him to find that Lamb had Type 1 bipolar disorder, a diagnosis agreed to in examinations by doctors for both the defense and prosecution.
Nelson said Lamb required hospitalization and cannot be released into the community, as he presents a substantial risk to others.
Defense attorney Joel Wirtz said an investigation of the events leading up to the assault, including the FBI, made clear Lamb suffered from a mental illness and not a long-standing “hate-driven life.”
Wirtz said lamb’s wife had called law enforcement, who took him for a psychiatric evaluation and medical treatment shortly before the crime. He was released while medicated, Wirtz said.
The victim’s family declined to give a victim’s impact statement. But Lamb spoke when given the opportunity.
“The individual standing here is usually the one to go forward and help others,” Lamb said. He added that he doesn’t remember the attack, but will regret it for the rest of his life.
