14 Years of Man’s Mugshots Reveal an Eye-Opening Transformation

14 Years of Man’s Mugshots Reveal an Eye-Opening Transformation
A stock photo of police tape. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Jack Phillips
2/4/2016
Updated:
4/2/2019

Police mugshots taken over a 14-year-long period suggest that an alleged life of crime and drug addiction can take its toll on a person.

Matthew Medlin was first arrested shortly after his 18th birthday in 2002. However, Medlin has been arrested a number of times since then, and his appearance changed dramatically.

(Multnomah Sheriffs Office)
(Multnomah Sheriffs Office)
In 2016, he was arrested for a 16th time after he allegedly tried to bite an officer, reported Inside Edition.

At the time, according to sheriff’s officials, he “jumped on the police car, damaging it, then climbed a tree and ran into a restaurant.”

“Employees got the man to leave the kitchen area and police were able to take him into custody after struggling to get him to the ground. During the arrest, the suspect attempted to bite one of the officers,” police said in a release.

The Oregonian reported that he has been to jail more than two dozen times in 14 years, including one conviction for sex abuse.
It was his 16th arrest, the San Francisco Chronicle reported and Chron.com said he recently was in the “Oregon main psychiatric hospital and is reportedly signing up for classes, including on how to deal with cognitive mental illness and legal defense.”

Before that, he was recently arrested inside a rail car after a four-hour standoff with police in Multnomah County, Oregon. The Oregonian reported at the time that he held pieces of metal and rocks as if they were weapons and also injected himself with methamphetamine. He also told police that he had been on a 26-hour-long meth binge and refused to leave the car.

Throughout the years, while it’s unclear if he was using meth the whole time, he’s been jailed a number of times on a variety of charges. Medlin was arrested in 2013 for burglary and assault:

(Multnomah Sheriffs Office)
(Multnomah Sheriffs Office)

He was later booked at the Multnomah County Jail on several charges including first-degree criminal mischief, criminal trespassing, and an unrelated parole violation.

He was arrested again in 2013:

(Multnomah Sheriffs Office)
(Multnomah Sheriffs Office)

Again, Medlin was arrested in 2013:

(Multnomah Sheriffs Office)
(Multnomah Sheriffs Office)

In May 2014, he was six days away from being released from jail but decided to try and escape anyway. Police found him less than a day later due to his facial tattoos.

(Multnomah Sheriffs Office)
(Multnomah Sheriffs Office)

This was his mugshot taken more recently:

(Multnomah Sheriffs Office)
(Multnomah Sheriffs Office)

According to Chron.com, he issued a statement about the viral mugshots.

“It’s kinda cool that I’m being glorified a little bit,” Medlin said.

(H/T: IJR)
Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
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