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February 1, 2023<\/p>\n
Justus Sanchez grew up near Northeast 67th and Killingsworth Street in Northeast Portland\u2019s Cully neighborhood. Times were tough.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t grow up in a stable environment,\u201d Sanchez said. \u201cThe police were at my house often for domestic violence and my father left when I was 7.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Throughout his youth, Sanchez sought guidance from places other than home, but he often found his way to negative influences.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI got in a lot of trouble. I had been suspended numerous times for fighting or disrupting the class,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Sanchez eventually became affiliated with gangs. He\u2019d been expelled from Portland Public Schools by 8th grade.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI remember fighting and Portland Public Schools had enough. I was too disruptive in class,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n And while he was often involved in disputes and scuffles, he managed to avoid being arrested or facing charges until the fall of his junior year.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSept. 25, 2009 \u2014 I remember it well because I was lucky to be alive after that,\u201d he said. Nearly a dozen people were involved in the fight that day on the grounds of Madison High School, including Sanchez.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Sanchez was stabbed during the melee, as was his cousin and other assailants.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI got stabbed a few times under my armpit, lower back and tailbone area. And one of the people who stabbed me was actually an old friend of mine.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Sanchez fled from the scene with a friend, believing he had eluded law enforcement who were called to the scene. But officers caught up to him and arrested him.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Initially unaware that he had been so seriously injured, he collapsed once he stepped out of the police car. Sanchez was admitted to Legacy Emanuel Hospital. Family members came to visit him. None of his friends did.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt was this incident that really changed my life,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n It was also the incident that set him on the path to meet Candace Johnson, a juvenile court counselor with Multnomah County\u2019s Juvenile Services Division.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n For his role in the fight, Sanchez was charged with riot, disorderly conduct and assault in the third degree. After being released from the hospital, Sanchez was held in County detention, where he remembers a detective sharing that he could be incarcerated for as long as five years.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThere was also a video that the District Attorney could see showing that I had tackled a guy and he got stabbed by his own knife. I was thinking, \u2018this is over for me,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201c\u2018That\u2019s my life, it\u2019s over.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n But Sanchez was assigned to Johnson.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI remember waiting in the lobby of the detention center and being introduced to her, and she said to me, \u2018I think you\u2019re better than this,\u2019\u201d he recalled.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cShe definitely made me realize I was wrong, but she also really advocated for me.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n As a juvenile court counselor, Johnson completes investigations and provides snapshots of a youth\u2019s life, and makes recommendations to help them avoid becoming re-engaged with the justice system while also protecting the community. As Sanchez\u2019s case progressed through the juvenile court system, she got him to open up to her about his goal of wanting to join the military.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Johnson helped Sanchez develop a plan, while also instilling accountability for his actions.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cShe always answered her phone. She called me. She even called my mom to check on me. My mom even made her cookies for Christmas at one point,\u201d Sanchez said.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cShe made me want to do better. Being around her, it was almost like going to your grandma\u2019s house. I feel like I\u2019m loved and cared about, even though she doesn\u2019t know me.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n In court, Sanchez worried that the book would be thrown at him. But it was Johnson who presented his case before the Multnomah County Circuit Court. It was Johnson who told the judge that he wanted to go into the military.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Sanchez ultimately received a plea agreement, probation, community service, and a requirement to write letters to the victims.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n He joined, then completed, the Oregon Youth Challenge Program, a military school in southern Oregon. Soon after, he graduated from basic training.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n He decided to stop into the Juvenile Services Division, dressed in his uniform, to reconnect with Johnson. He even made a point to visit then-District Attorney Michael Schrunk.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAnd Candace said, \u2018Look, it really is true that kids can do what they say they\u2019re going to do if we just give them a chance.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Sanchez applied to get his charges expunged. He completed his senior year at Jefferson High School and took night school classes at Benson Polytechnic School to make up credits.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n He graduated with a 3.7 GPA.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMy senior year and last semester, I had maybe three classes a day,\u201d he said. \u201cI played rugby and ran track. That was the first time where I experienced a normal high school life.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n His request to have his charges dropped and expunged from his record was granted a year later. He received a letter from the District Attorney\u2019s office that enabled him to join the military.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Sanchez went on to serve in the military for six years, until 2017. After a stint in art school, he became a police officer with the Hillsboro Police Department in 2021.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThere was a point where I didn\u2019t like law enforcement. My background is diverse. I didn\u2019t go to school for criminal justice. I didn\u2019t grow up in an environment where we appreciate law enforcement,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n But today, he loves his role serving the community.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMy background helps me in interacting with the community and youth,\u201d he says. \u201cWhenever I get a call, I\u2019m very knowledgeable because I was there, too.”\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n