An advocacy group spoke out after what they see as an alarmingly light sentence handed down against an Auburn man. Matthew Darnell was caught on camera trying to abduct a barista back in January, but he’s already back on the streets after copping a plea deal.
Darnell was initially charged with attempted kidnapping. Despite the clear evidence, King County Prosecutors said a conviction is not always a guarantee, so they chose to reach a deal. Advocates for victims of similar crimes said deals like this could silence other victims.
“It raises the question of why should people bother to report,” said Mary Ellen Stone, with the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center.
Stone said of their around 5,000 sexual assault cases each year, half are in some stage of the legal process. Those cases often end in plea bargains.
“We see that all the time. There are a variety of reasons why that happens but the message it sends to victims is what happened to you wasn’t important,” said Stone. “The other thing it does is that it says people that are behaving in this way, not that big of a deal. You’re not going to be held accountable.”
Darnell is another added to that list. In January, Auburn Police arrested him after he tried to pull a bikini barista through a drive-through window. That was also caught on camera. In the footage you can see the barista hand him some singles, then he violently grabs her wrist with a black strap in his other hand.
Court documents said that strap was a zip tie with a 12-inch loop, meant to go around the barista’s neck. Police believe his motives were sexual in nature.
The plea deal came with a felony harassment conviction. The sentence is 50 days in county jail plus time served, so he spent a total of 220 days in jail. He also has to pay a $500 fine. That fine is a mandatory victim penalty assessment amount, which is standard in every felony case per the King County Prosecutor’s Office.
The prosecutor’s office also met with the victim before the plea deal was agreed to, where she told them she supported the resolution.
“It’s understandable that people look and say really that’s what you’re bound to by the statewide guidelines,” said King County Prosecutor’s Office Spokesperson, Casey McNerthney. “Prosecutors statewide are limited by sentencing guidelines and offender score. There are times, all the time, where people look and say, ‘Boy that feels like it should be a longer sentence,’ but we are required to follow the state guidelines that are set by state lawmakers. Either way, whether it’s attempted kidnapping or felony harassment, state law outlines that as a Class C felony so whichever way there is a conviction it’s the same class.”
Offender scores increase with each previous conviction, but Darnell doesn’t have a previous criminal history. The difference between the charges is felony harassment comes with a one to three-month sentence. Felony kidnapping has up to nine and a half months in jail but if they went that route, McNerthney said they would not have one aspect the victim needed for her peace of mind.
Additionally, a conviction at trial wouldn’t have come with a criminal protection order, which was agreed to as part of Darnell’s plea deal.
“You don’t have the option for DOC supervision after he’s released and also not a criminal protection order for the victim,” said McNerthney.
Making sure the victim feels heard is just as important as a conviction, Stone said.
“They need to be validated; they need to be told their concerns are legitimate. They need to have a transparent process and they need to be respected throughout the process. People feel like it was worth it, I know that people went to bat for me. Even if we didn’t get what we wanted,” Stone said.
We asked the King County Prosecutor’s Office why they went for felony harassment and not felony assault when Darnell clearly put his hands on the barista in the video. They said for it to be felony-level assault there needs to be visible evidence of an attack. The victim in the coffee stand didn’t have bruising or any other signs of the attack.