An Oregon woman who was criminally charged for calling an African American couple the n-word, spitting on the chest of one of the victims and brandishing a knife in front of both of them was sentenced Tuesday to 30 days in jail and anger management counseling.

Amber Rose Rocco, who is white, was convicted of a hate crime for the Christmas Eve encounter in a strip mall parking lot along 99W in McMinnville. In all, the 40-year-old pleaded guilty to four crimes: second-degree intimidation, unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of harassment in Yamhill County Circuit Court.

District Attorney Brad Berry said his office considered “multiple” factors in agreeing to a plea deal, including input from the victims, who were both consulted. Berry said although one of them wanted Rocco to spend more time in jail, the victim was happy that Rocco will receive anger management treatment and won’t be allowed to possess any weapons during the three years of probation she also received.

Rocco’s attorney, Mark Lawrence, said his client apologized in court Tuesday, even though neither victim was present.

“I thought the state had overcharged Amber and could not prove unlawful use of a weapon,” Lawrence said. “However, Amber was embarrassed by her conduct and believed she should go ahead and plead guilty notwithstanding my advice. Amber was contrite and remorseful as she accepted responsibility and was sentenced.”

Judge Jennifer Chapman gave Rocco until 7 p.m. Wednesday to turn herself into jail, so Rocco could attend a doctor’s appointment.

10 Amber Rocco's January court appearance in Yamhill County

Rocco’s outbursts and aggression toward the couple made national headlines after they video-recorded her rants and threatening gestures with a cellphone.

Keysuan Goodyear told police the Dec. 24 encounter began after his girlfriend, Emora Roberson, and a relative went inside Gandalf’s Smoke & Vape Shop while he waited in the car. That’s when Rocco pulled up in the parking space next to theirs, complained about their parking job and walked into a nearby Domino’s Pizza, he said.

Goodyear said he couldn’t make out what Rocco said and a stranger who was nearby told him Rocco had used the n-word, according to the police report. Goodyear told police that he asked Rocco why she’d said that once she came out of Domino’s.

About that time, Roberson returned to the car. The couple told police that while Goodyear was sitting inside their car, Rocco spat on Goodyear’s chest through an open window. The couple also said Rocco slapped Goodyear in the face, held the knife up and threatened: “I’ll stab you. I’ll kill you, (n-word).”

Roberson told The Oregonian/OregonLive that the commotion upset her 15-month-old baby, who was in a back seat of the car and started “crying her head off.”

In the video that Roberson recorded, Rocco appears to call both Roberson and Goodyear, who were visiting from out of town, the racial slur. Roberson tells her boyfriend not to retaliate.

“Nah, it’s not worth it, babe,” she says. “We’re in a white-ass town.”

Roberson told police that while she was sitting in the front passenger seat with the door open, Rocco tried to slam the door shut on her ankle. On a scale of 0 to 10, Roberson said the pain in her ankle was a 7.

When questioned by an officer a few days later, Rocco denied wrongdoing.

“Ms. Rocco told me she was only defending herself and is not racist at all,” wrote a police officer in the report.

Rocco told authorities she lived in Willamina, a town of 2,200 residents about 20 miles southwest of McMinnville.

Less than two weeks later, Rocco showed up in court to be arraigned on a list of criminal charges. She claimed she felt threatened that day but was sorry about the one particular word she used.

“I do 100% from the bottom of my heart regret saying that word,” Rocco said at the time. “I’ve never in my life used that word. I have a very mixed family and I love them. I love everybody equally.”

She continued: “I would never use that word ever again. It takes a deep amount of rage for anybody to have to say something like that.”

As part of her sentence, Rocco also must complete 80 hours of community service and refrain from having any contact with Goodyear or Roberson.

-- Aimee Green

agreen@oregonian.com

o_aimee

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