A Portland man who spat on police officers during four different run-ins over the past year has been sentenced to 1 ⅓ years in prison.

Justin Antoine McDonald, 39, spat on officers after they responded to reports that McDonald was sleeping in the lobby of a health club, had punched a fast-food worker, threw a garbage can at two women in front of a convenience store and waved a knife at a man walking down the street.

Justin McDonald, 39, was sentenced to 16 months in prison on Monday, Nov. 18, 2019. (Multnomah County Sheriff's Office)

In two of those cases, he told the officers he had HIV and wanted to infect them, according to the prosecution. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that the virus isn’t spread through saliva.

Spitting on a public safety officer is a felony under Oregon law. But the first three times McDonald was arrested, he was released within several days and given court dates. After his fourth arrest last month, he was held until his plea and sentencing hearings for all the cases this week.

McDonald told jailers that he has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post traumatic stress disorder. Defense attorney Jonathan Sarre said he doesn’t agree with the state Legislature’s recommendation of prison time upon a defendant’s second conviction for spitting on officers. McDonald was facing a legislatively recommended sentence of about two to 2 ½ years in prison for all four of his convictions, Sarre said.

Sarre said the vast majority of people who commit the crime of aggravated harassment -- defined as propelling one’s saliva, blood, semen, urine or feces on a public safety officer -- have mental illness.

“These folks need crisis workers, not police contact,” he said.

Others, Sarre said, are often drunk.

McDonald’s track record of spitting on police began Dec. 8 after prosecutors said he grabbed onto the vest of an officer who woke him in the lobby of the LA Fitness gym at 1270 N.E. Weidler St. When McDonald wouldn’t let go, the officer punched McDonald to get him to loosen his grip, according to a probable cause affidavit. While getting into a patrol car, McDonald spit on the officer’s vest and on the sleeve and pant leg of another officer who was assisting, according to the affidavit.

On Jan. 17, police responded to the KFC at 5721 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. to a report that McDonald had punched an employee in the face. McDonald told police that the fast-food restaurant had messed up his order, according to a probable cause affidavit. Police noticed redness swelling around the employee’s eye.

An officer said that while transporting McDonald to jail, McDonald kicked and shattered a patrol car window, then spit on the officer through the broken window.

On June 21, police responded to a 7-Eleven at 310 N.E. Weidler St. to a report that McDonald had hit two sisters with a trash can by throwing it at them. While riding in the patrol car, McDonald spit through a small opening in a divider between the front and the back of the car, misting the officer’s arm with spittle, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Then on Oct. 19, police responded to an intersection a few blocks west of Columbia Park in North Portland to a report that McDonald, who is black, had yelled a racial slur and waved a knife at a white man walking by.

Officers found a folding knife in McDonald’s pocket and handcuffed him after a struggle, according to a probable cause affidavit. McDonald also yelled racial slurs at police and spit on an officer, according to the affidavit.

McDonald pleaded guilty Monday to four counts of aggravated harassment, one count of fourth-degree assault and one count of resisting arrest. Other charges were dismissed as part of a plea agreement.

In addition to prison time, McDonald was sentenced to receive a mental health evaluation and treatment, if necessary. He also was sentenced to three years of probation through the Multnomah County Justice Reinvestment Program, which is designed to help defendants find housing, get treatment and otherwise stabilize their lives.

-- Aimee Green

agreen@oregonian.com

o_aimee

Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox.