Teenager sentenced to seven years in juvenile detention for beating homeless man to death in Salem

When Amber Mikolas saw her father for the first time in four years, he was beaten and bruised, clinging to life in a hospital bed. He died soon after.

That was a year ago, and Mikolas recently described her father, Russell, as a “64-year-old disabled homeless man,” recalling playing basketball with him as a child and his addiction problems.

On Thursday, the teenager who hit the man was convicted of first-degree murder.

According to court testimony Thursday, Joshua D. Upton Jr., now 18, attacked Mikolas on a street in Salem. He punched and kicked the victim so violently that he died of his injuries two and a half weeks later.

Upton, who was prosecuted as a juvenile, said Thursday he did not know why he did it.

He will serve the longest sentence under the juvenile justice system – seven years. Prosecutors said the Oregon Department of Juvenile Justice could release him earlier.

The Salem Reporter does not typically identify juveniles in criminal cases unless they are charged with murder, as in this case.

During Thursday's trial, Mikolas' daughter was one of the relatives who spoke during the hearing about the devastation of losing her father.

As she spoke, muffled crying came from the audience.

According to Salem police, Upton, then 17, attacked Mikolas on June 29, 2023, on Northeast Sunnyview Road, just off Northeast Lancaster Drive. Witnesses called police at 4:30 p.m. to report that a young man was hitting and kicking the victim.

Mikolas was taken to Salem Hospital and later to a Portland hospital, where he died of his injuries on July 17, 2023.

His obituary described him as a “man of generous spirit and loving heart.” Mikolas was born in San Joaquin, California, moved to Oregon as a child, and graduated from Scio High School.

Mikolas lived on the streets and looked much older than someone in his early 60s, Jolene Garland said in her eulogy for Mikolas in July 2023.

For three years, Garland was Mikolas's advocate and friend. She saw him use his money to buy shoes and camping gear for others and pay for friends' car repairs. When he rented a motel room, he invited his friends over to wash up and spend time together.

“Russell had his own reasons for living on the streets, but as he often told me, he did not want to die on the streets,” Garland wrote in her eulogy. “And tragically, he lost his life, but he did not die on the streets.”

Family testimony and court records document Mikolas' years-long battle with the law. His daughter said he struggled with addiction and had previously been charged with methamphetamine possession.

His criminal record dated back to 1988 and ranged from property damage to sexual abuse.

Mikolas' nephew told the court that his uncle had been an abuser earlier in his life, but that he had also been loving and fatherly to him.

Amber Mikolas said her father distanced himself from the family because he felt guilty about his past behavior.

Mikolas' daughter and nephew said they wanted Upton to use his time in MacLaren Juvenile Detention Center to attend classes and get counseling. They both wanted a better future for him, one they said Mikolas would have wanted for the teenager.

After statements from family and lawyers, Upton stood to speak. The lanky teenager stood with shackles on his wrists and ankles over a light gray tracksuit. He had several supporters in the courtroom.

Reading from a sheet of paper, Upton spoke most of his statement quickly and calmly. He turned to the victim's family to apologize to them and to Mikolas.

After a year without drugs, he said he would do this day differently. He said he had no reason for hitting Mikolas.

“I don't know myself,” said Upton. At the end of his statement he began to cry.

District Judge Lindsay Partridge later said he hoped the teenager's tears were out of compassion and not because she had received the sentence.

The sentence was a point of tension.

Upton could have been charged as an adult, but a 2019 state law changed the sentencing for 15- to 17-year-olds. Upton's lawyers requested that he be tried as a juvenile under the law, which applies to certain crimes, including murder.

Judge Partridge granted her motion, thereby overturning the waiver that would have resulted in her being sentenced as an adult.

“The decision to lift the exemption for this case was truly heartbreaking for me and the rest of my office,” said Marion County Assistant District Attorney Tim O'Donnell.

O'Donnell, who works in the district attorney's juvenile division, said Upton's case was one of the most difficult he has worked on in his career. O'Donnell wiped tears from his eyes in the courtroom as he listened to Mikolas' family.

“I have never seen a teenager commit such a brutal, violent act,” O'Donnell said, comparing this case to others, particularly gang violence involving teenagers.

O'Donnell said he believes Upton should have received a 25-year sentence rather than being released at 25.

The judge agreed with O'Donnell's testimony and said the teen's drug use was not the reason Upton hit Mikolas.

“There’s something else going on,” Partridge said.

After that day last June, Upton underwent a psychological evaluation. O'Donnell said the results were vague because Upton's brain was not fully developed due to his age.

“I can't imagine what must have been going through your mind that day,” Partridge told Upton, saying the teenager had “absolutely no compassion for other people.”

CLARIFICATION: This story has been updated to clarify the length of Upton's sentence.

Contact reporter Madeleine Moore: [email protected].

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Madeleine Moore is a reporter at the Salem Reporter as part of the University of Oregon's Charles Snowden Internship Program. She came to Salem after graduating from the University of Oregon with a bachelor's degree in journalism in June 2024.