PORTLAND, Ore. — The man accused of stabbing two Black teenage boys on a MAX train in a racially-motivated attack will be held in jail throughout his case, a judge ordered Thursday.
Multnomah County Judge Steffan Alexander approved preventative detention for Adrian Cummins, who faces attempted murder, assault, bias crime and other charges.
Prosecutors had asked Judge Alexander to keep Cummins behind bars without the option of bail because of the threat Cummins poses to the public and the violent nature of the alleged crimes.
In court Thursday morning, prosecuting attorneys played surveillance video from the MAX train that showed Cummins attacking two 17-year-old boys.
In the video, the boys walked onto the train and sat two rows behind Cummins.
Cummins looked over his shoulder multiple times at the boys, then he pulled a knife out, and within minutes Cummins got out of his seat and rushed and stabbed the boys.
One boy was stabbed in the chest, nicking his heart and requiring open-chest surgery.
Cummins' defense attorney, Alicia Hercher, argued that severe drug addiction and homelessness were the primary drivers of Cummins’ actions.
"The description from the detective, my client appeared to be 'meth'd out'," Hercher said. "Absent drug addiction and homelessness, I believe he would not be a danger to anyone."
Prosecutors, including Julian Samuels, deputy district attorney for the strategic prosecution unit assigned to TriMet cases, said Cummins is too dangerous to be released.
"This is clear and convincing," Samuels said. "Mr. Cummins, for what looks like no reasons, turned his head twice and looked at [the boys], runs up on them quickly, stabs one in the chest where he has to have open-heart surgery, and slashes another with the knife he's carrying around."
During the hearing, Cummins looked down and shook his head side to side multiple times while watching the surveillance videos play. He glared at Samuels and said 'wow' when Samuels suggested that race was a motivating factor for the alleged attacks.
Samuels read a statement from the mother of the boy who had open chest surgery. She said her son is an 'A and B' student and she feels heartbroken that a 'random act of violence' has taken him out of his senior year.
If all had gone according to plan, Cummins would've been in jail on September 2, the day of the alleged attacks. Portland police arrested Cummins on August 30 after he failed to appear in court on other charges. They had a judicial order to hold him in jail until his next hearing in late September.
However, an officer released Cummins with a citation after jail officials denied him for “health reasons”. Portland police said Cummins had a medical condition that could’ve spread to other inmates.