Back in 2017, a man went to a Phoenix comics convention with the sole purpose of killing Jason David Frank. Now, the Power Rangers star is speaking out after his would-be attacker sat in front of a judge today. Matthew Sterling did see his day in court today, but there wasn’t much fanfare around the trial. It was short and to the point as the attacker pleaded guilty to all charges with the defense of insanity. Now, it will be up to a judge to decide if Sterling is going to jail, the Arizona State Hospital, or if he will be released. If it’s not clear, this man meant business when he rolled in Phoenix Comicon back in May of 2017. He had a loaded shotgun and three loaded handguns on him when police subdued him. After the struggle with authorities, they discovered that he also had a combat knife, pepper spray and throwing stars on his person as well according to the police present for the initial arrest. The actor gave his thoughts on this entire situation on his personal Instagram with a picture from the security camera footage.
Frank began, “Time to face the charges!!! In May 2017, Mathew Sterling came into Phoenix Comic Con @phoenixfanfusion carrying loaded guns and other weapons to harm people. He even set a reminder his phone to “Kill JDF.” Tomorrow is his court hearing facing charges of attempted murder, resisting arrest, multiple counts of aggravated assault, carrying a weapon in a prohibited place, and wearing body armor during the commission of a felony. Let’s hope the justice system takes care of it. Finally after 2 years!! I will keep everyone posted. Hopefully this changes the game for comic cons to prevent things like this to happen. Can you please help me and tag a friends for more awareness… his legal team is trying to hide #media #jdfcomicconsafetyreview @ry.cody”
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That is an absolutely full-throated clearing of the air from the star of the hit television program, but he has also made efforts to try and improve safety at different conventions all around the nation after this incident. Police discovered that Sterling actually had a message in his phone to remind him: “Kill Jason David Frank.” Social media threats and messages tipped off law enforcement before any real violence got started which is a great thing because something truly terrible could have happened without swift action.
Interestingly, Frank had admitted that he had already forgiven his attacker in a previous quote to 12 News in Arizona. He said, “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.”
Time will tell what kind of sentence Sterling will be looking at as the case continues. The ruling will come down to a single judge in this bizarre case. But, for Frank and countless other convention attendees, things in the fan community around Phoenix have been changed forever.
