A Portland teen who set a string of blazes in 2022 has been slapped with a hefty punishment, including a $30,000 restitution bill. Malik Hares, 19, was handed down 180 hours of community service and three years of probation after pleading guilty to arson charges. The Multnomah County Circuit Court also decided to pass on fines and fees, given the size of the restitution, according to KOIN 6 News.
During the heat of the previous year, prosecutors tagged Hares alongside Samuel Perkins and Wayne Chen with multiple charges in numerous reckless fires across Mt. Tabor, Hares admitted to buying lighter fluid and driving during the spree as "just being stupid," his mea culpa sidestepping what many see as a deeper lapse in judgment, and in a statement obtained by BNN Breaking News.
"On his behalf, I’d like to offer an apology to the community and the victims in this case," Hares's attorney, Alexis Andersen, conveyed, "Mr. Hares is here taking accountability and ready to move on with his life and get in a better direction," Andersen said, as per KGW.
While the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office leaves a 90-day window open for additional claims that could tip the scales of restitution higher, the community of Mt. Tabor is grappling with the aftermath, Hares's accomplices, Perkins and Chen, have each faced the music, pleaded to lesser charges, and are navigating their own paths through probation and community service, cogs in a legal system working towards rectification and a hope for deterrence, as stated in KOIN 6 News.
