Police arrested Adrianne Clark on Saturday after a judge issued a warrant for her arrest when she failed to appear in court on Aug. 22. Clark faces four reckless burning charges for brush fires that burned near the south edge of campus on Aug. 21. She was arraigned on Monday and remains in jail, according to Brent Weisberg, communications director with the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office.
Clark was charged with four counts of reckless burning after witnesses reported seeing her starting fires below campus, with one coming within a few feet of cars parked behind Kenna Hall. Investigators took her into custody, questioned her, charged her and later released on her own recognizance the same day.
Adrianne Clark. Photo: Multnomah County Sheriff's Office
According to Jessica Morkert-Shibley, public information officer for the Multnomah County Department of Community Justice, Clark was released because of a policy established by the Circuit Courts that states defendants can be released on their own recognizance depending on the level of the charges they are facing.
The court reserves jail space for those facing more serious charges like felonies so they can ensure those defendants will appear in court.
Clark’s charges are considered a Class A misdemeanor so she was released the same day she was charged, after signing a document stating she would appear in court the next day on Aug. 22. When she failed to attend her arraignment, a judge issued a $10,000 bench warrant for her arrest.
She remains in Multnomah County Detention Center.
Maddie Pfeifer is the news and managing editor for The Beacon. She can be reached at pfeifer21@up.edu.
