Jason David Frank has saved the world and himself from dance countless times on various iterations of Power Rangers. But, an attack on his life that law enforcement thwarted in 2017 was something that really scared him. Today, the man responsible for planning the attack faced his ruling in front of a judge. Frank is the actor that couple different generations of Power Rangers fans know as Dr. Tommy Oliver. He’s been a series staple since the early days, and he was all ready to visit Phoenix Comicon on that fateful day two years ago. Matthew Sterling is the man that police brought into custody before he could enact the plan that he had typed into his smartphone that day: “Kill Jason David Frank.” These sorts of violent incidents are nothing new in the United States as just a few days ago people were killed and injured in a public shooting in Jersey City, New Jersey. Back in 2017, Sterling planned to kill the actor at the convention and possibly take out anyone else who might have gotten in the way during the Phoenix Comicon appearance.
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Police say that Sterling had every intention of killing officers as well, if that was what it was going to take to reach the Power Rangers star. The authorities got into a struggle with Sterling inside the event and social media threats tipped them off to his location and plan. From there, police discovered that the suspect had a loaded shotgun and three loaded handguns on him while the arrest was taking place. Sterling also had a combat knife, pepper spray and throwing stars as well according to police accounts provided to 12 News.
In a previous statement given to the station back in the summer of 2017, Frank says that he’s already forgiven his attacker. “After seeing it and thinking to myself, ‘wow this is the guy who came to kill me. Just seeing new footage and how easy it is to get into these comic conventions. I’ve already forgiven him. Do I want him to serve jail time and get mental help? Absolutely.”
For his part, Frank also would like to know why he was targeted specifically amongst all the people in attendance. Sterling pled guilty to the charges filed against him. Now, it is up to a judge to make a ruling that determines whether the man will be headed to jail, the Arizona State Hospital, or even possibly released. But, it is undoubtedly a good thing that authorities stepped in for everyone in attendance that day to prevent something even more tragic from happening.
