Man gets month in jail for attempted hate crime in Vancouver

A 36-year-old man was sentenced Friday in Clark County Superior Court to about a month of jail time on an attempted hate crime charge stemming from him threatening a convenience store clerk.

Judge David Gregerson sentenced David Allen Paiva — who is listed as indigent and has no official address in court records — to 35 days.

Pavia was arrested last month on suspicion of malicious harassment, a hate crime in Washington. A Clark County Jail pre-book sheet indicated that Paiva has “known, stated or observed mental health problems.”

Vancouver police were called shortly before 1 p.m. Oct. 2 to a business in the 5500 block of Northeast Fourth Plain Boulevard for an unwanted person.

Upon arrival, the officer saw Paiva outside the nearby 7-Eleven, arguing with the store clerk, a person of color, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

The store clerk told police that Paiva had purchased alcohol there and was drinking in front of a nearby business. Paiva returned to the store, however, and began arguing with the clerk. The clerk asked him to leave and offered to talk outside. Paiva repeatedly called the clerk a racially derogatory term and screamed, “I’m going to (expletive) you up!” the affidavit reads.

The clerk said he feared for his safety and tried to retreat before police arrived, court records say.