Andrew Ramsey
© Marion County Sheriff's OfficeAndrew Ramsey
A Salem man who admitted to attacking a Sikh store owner in January because of his religion was sentenced Friday to 180 days in jail and ordered to attend the local temple's annual parade to learn more about the faith.

Andrew Ramsey, 25, had pleaded guilty Monday in Marion County Circuit Court to second-degree intimidation, a hate crime under Oregon law. He attacked Harwinder Singh Dodd on Jan. 14 at Dodd's Salem convenience store.

Ramsey will be credited for already serving the majority of the sentence and should be out of jail custody before the June parade in Salem.

He also pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal mischief and unauthorized use of a vehicle stemming from separate incidents that occurred while released from jail a week after the attack on Dodd.

Dodd wrote in a victim impact statement Friday that Ramsey got angry and refused to leave his store when Dodd refused to sell Ramsey cigarettes without an ID. Dodd said Ramsey ripped his turban off his head, pulled his beard, spat on him, punched him and kicked him until customers intervened.

Dodd's turban, called a dastaar, and beard are articles of his faith, he explained in his victim impact statement. He said Ramsey removing his dastaar was "one of the worst, most degrading things that could have happened to me."

"When Mr. Ramsey attacked my turban, he attacked my identity and my core," wrote Dodd, who said he immigrated from India, is married and has a daughter in college. "He attacked a part of me that I cannot change the way you can change your clothes or even your hair color. He went so much deeper and attacked my faith, my dignity, and my entire community."

Dodd said he will be forever thankful to the people who stepped in and stopped Ramsey.

"They saw me as a real person and treated me like one," his statement said.

Dodd said a message needed to be sent that people of his faith will always be welcome and safe in Oregon. He thanked Circuit Judge Lindsay Patridge for imposing consequences as a result of Ramsey's actions.

Patridge also sentenced Ramsey to three years of probation, ordered him to receive mental health, drug and alcohol treatment and attend the Dasmesh Darbar Sikh Temple parade next month. The District Attorney's Office said Patridge's staff planned to reach out to the temple to double-check if it would be all right for Ramsey to attend for educational purposes.

If allowed, Ramsey would later have to report back to the judge on what he's learned. Ramsey faces 18 months in prison if his probation is revoked.

Ramsey, in a letter filed this week in court, said he was experiencing a mental health crisis when he attacked Dodd. He said he's "finally decided to take the help I've always needed."

"I was in a manic outbreak (as a result of not being medicated) and my eclectic knowledge I've gained through studying different cultures and admiring them extensively I knew how to get under (Dodd's) skin," he wrote. "But that's not me at all. I don't want (to) get under anyone's skin."

Ramsey said he's since been taking medication.

According to court documents, Ramsey was arrested for attacking Dodd on Jan. 14 and told police he assaulted the man because he thought he was Hindu. Ramsey was released from jail on Jan. 21 because of overcrowding.

Ramsey was arrested three days later after he ran from a stolen Jeep that police had been chasing, court records show. Officers also linked him to damaging an acquaintance's front porch awning sometime before the Jeep chase and a separate car theft.

He has been in jail since his arrest after the Jeep chase.