Skinhead Indicted In Portland Beating

PORTLAND

An 18-year-old skinhead gang member yesterday was indicted by a Multnomah County grand jury on a single count of second-degree assault for the April 17 beating of a black man.

The grand jury declined to charge Randal Lee Krager with other crimes, and police said the evidence did not support further charges involving racial bias.

The grand jury considered all evidence and decided that Krager's actions were not racially motivated, said Deputy District Attorney Charles French.

Police detective Shirley Zahler said another arrest was likely in connection with the fight.

The charge stems from a fight between two black men and four white people with white-supremacist beliefs. Police found Jacob Johnson, 34, who is black, unconscious on a northeast Portland street. The fight sparked widespread outrage after community leaders criticized the police response to the incident.

Portland police said their investigation showed Johnson fractured his skull when his head hit the pavement after he was punched by Krager.

Johnson was in fair condition yesterday in Portland's Emanuel Hospital & Health Center. He was in a coma for a week. Hospital officials say he is conscious but not coherent.