A Gervais man will serve two months in state prison after pleading guilty to three felony bias crime counts for directing racial slurs and death threats at a Hispanic family living next door.

Marion County Circuit Court Judge James Edmonds sentenced 52-year-old Richard Pennise on July 10 to two months in the Oregon Department of Corrections followed by 36 months of supervised probation. The case number is 26CR29450.

The harassment stretched back weeks before Gervais Police Chief Robert Morris responded to a complaint at the family's home in May. The victim told police Pennise had directed racial slurs at her, her husband, and their children on a nearly daily basis and threatened to kill all of them.

The abuse was severe enough that the mother kept her younger children from playing outside whenever Pennise was home.

When Chief Morris arrived, he could hear Pennise shouting slurs at the family as they washed their car in their driveway.

In the weeks before that May incident, Pennise also threatened the victim's older daughter and her boyfriend, made racially charged threats about their Hispanic ethnicity, and said words to the effect of "come and get this," according to the Marion County District Attorney's Office.

Each count of first-degree bias crime is a Class C felony under Oregon law, carrying a maximum sentence of five years in prison. As part of his guilty plea, Pennise received two months. Terms of the plea agreement were not publicly detailed.

Deputy District Attorney Michael Kummerman prosecuted the case. District Attorney-elect Brendan Murphy, identified by that title in the DA's office announcement, said the outcome reflects the office's enforcement posture on hate-motivated violence.

"We all deserve to feel safe, but especially at our own homes," Murphy said. "Hate crimes, stemming from bias and prejudice, will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law."

The DA's office credited the Gervais Police Department's investigation with building the case. No further court dates are scheduled; Pennise's sentence is final as of July 10.