TEXAS RESIDENT PLEADS GUILTY TO HATE CRIME INVOLVING 81-YEAR OLD AFRICAN-AMERICAN MAN

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Texas Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Hate Crime for Assaulting an Elderly African-American Man

A man from Katy, Texas, has entered a guilty plea to a federal hate crime related to the racially-motivated assault of an 81-year-old African-American man, announced Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division, and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson of the Southern District of Texas.

Conrad Alvin Barrett, 29, was charged with violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.  On Nov. 24, 2013, he attacked the elderly African-American man because of the man’s race and color in what Barrett called a “knockout.”

At the hearing today, evidence revealed that Barrett recorded himself on his cell phone attacking the African-American man.  In the recording, Barrett questions whether there would be national attention if he attacked a person of color.  Barrett also claimed he would not hit “defenseless people” just moments before punching the elderly man in the face and with such force that the victim immediately fell to the ground.  Barrett then laughed and said “knockout,” as he ran to his vehicle and fled.  The victim suffered two jaw fractures and was hospitalized for several days as a result of the attack.

“This was a senseless and heinous act of violence that was committed simply because the victim was African American,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Gupta.  “The Department of Justice will continue to use every tool in our arsenal to vindicate the rights of victims of violent crimes.”

“The defendant’s admissions today resolve any question as to his guilt and are consistent with what we had planned to present at trial,” said U.S. Attorney Magidson.  “We do not take criminal civil rights violations lightly and are now prepared to move forward at sentencing to fully advocate for the appropriate punishment in this case.”

The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act was passed on Oct. 22, 2009, and signed into law by President Barack Obama six days later.  Shepard was a gay student who was tortured and murdered in 1998 near Laramie, Wyoming.   Byrd was an African-American man who was tied to a truck by two white supremacists, dragged behind it and decapitated in Jasper, Texas, in 1998.

U.S. District Judge Gray Miller of the Southern District of Texas accepted Barrett’s plea today and has set sentencing for September 18, 2015.  At that time, he faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

The charges are the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI in cooperation with the Fulshear, Texas, and Katy Police Departments as well as the Drug Enforcement Administration.  Civil Rights Division Trial Attorneys Saeed Mody and Olimpia Michel are prosecuting the case along with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ruben R. Perez and Joe Magliolo of the Southern District of Texas, in cooperation with District Attorney John Healey of Ft. Bend County, Texas.

TEXAS MAN CHARGED FOR ALLEGED ASSAULT BASED ON VICTIM'S SEXUAL ORIENTATION

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Texas Man Charged with Hate Crime for Assault Based on Victim’s Sexual Orientation

Brice Johnson, 19, of Springtown, Texas, has been charged with willfully causing bodily injury to a person because of the actual or perceived sexual orientation of that person in a federal criminal complaint, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas and the FBI Dallas Division announced.  The complaint was filed on Feb. 12, 2014, in the U.S. District Court in Fort Worth, Texas.

Johnson has been in state custody since his arrest on Sept. 10, 2013, and he made his initial appearance in federal court today.

According to the affidavit filed with the criminal complaint, in the early morning hours of Sept. 2, 2013, the adult male victim, identified as A.K., connected with Johnson through the cell phone application for MeetMe.com.  A.K.’s MeetMe.com page indicated he was a gay man, while Johnson’s page indicated he was not gay.  During their communications, Johnson said that he was interested in engaging in sexual activity with A.K.  He invited A.K. to his home, gave A.K. his cell phone number and address and they exchanged text messages planning their sexual activity.

After A.K. showed up at the house, Johnson severely beat him, then put him into the trunk of A.K.’s car and drove him to a friend’s home.  Based on ligature marks on A.K.’s wrists, it appears that he was bound with an electrical cord while he was in the trunk of the car.  Individuals at the home told Johnson to take A.K. to the hospital or they would call the police, and Johnson eventually drove the victim to an Emergency Medical Services station in Springtown.  

A.K. was hospitalized for 10 days in Fort Worth, and he was diagnosed and treated for multiple skull and facial fractures.  The investigation revealed that on the night of the incident, Johnson saved A.K.’s cell phone number using a gay slur as a contact name and Johnson later stated that he was playing a prank on the victim because of his sexual orientation, again using a gay slur when referring to A.K.  According to the affidavit, A.K. said that he had no physical contact with Johnson prior to the attack.  

A federal complaint is a written statement of the essential facts of the offenses being charged and must be made under oath before a magistrate judge.  The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.  However, the statutory maximum penalty upon conviction for the offense as charged is 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.  The U.S. Attorney’s office has 30 days to present the matter to a grand jury for indictment, and an indictment could include other charges that increase the maximum penalty.

The investigation is being conducted by the FBI, the Springtown Police Department and the Parker County Sheriff’s Office.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cara Foos Pierce and Trial Attorney Saeed Mody of the Civil Rights Division.