HOUSTON—A federal grand jury in Houston has indicted four men on hate crime charges over the August beating of a black man at a bus stop.
The Justice Department on Thursday announced the indictment of Charles Cannon, Michael McLaughlin, Brian Kerstetter and Joseph Staggs.
All are charged with violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. FBI agents say it’s the first significant enhancement to civil rights legislation.
FBI spokeswoman Shauna Dunlap said this was the first time the law would be used to prosecute someone in Houston and only the third instance nationally.
“It also provided an additional tool for law enforcement to use in investigating civil rights or violent crimes that are rooted in hate,” said FBI Agent Stephen Morris. “It’s a powerful tool and allows law enforcement to be able to use to not only investigate the cases, but also hand down some pretty significant punishments for it.”
Investigators say three of the men have white supremacist gang tattoos.
The indictment says the victim, identified as 29-year-old Yondell Johnson, was punched and kicked while waiting for a bus, all while being taunted by racial slurs.
"When they were stomping me," Johnson told KHOU 11 News, "the last thing I remember before I blacked out was my nose gushing blood."
The four suspects were arrested at the scene following a 911 call. If convicted, each could face up to 10 years in prison.
"I don't know if they wanted to kill me or not," Johnson said, adding that he feared for his life. "But from my understanding, (they did it) just because I was black."
Further details on the defendants, including whether they have attorneys, were not immediately released.
Back in August, local activists had demanded the four men be charged with hate crimes. But the district attorney's office had chosen to charge them with misdemeanor assault while the investigation continued.
On Thursday, the FBI said DA Pat Lykos had worked with the federal agency to pursue the tougher charges.
Some activists said that the announcement was bittersweet. They applauded the new charges but wondered what took so long.
"There should have been laws and safeguards in place already where we could handle this thing locally instead of the federal government having to step in," said community leader Derek Muhammad.
A DA spokeswoman said Lykos would support legislation to strengthen penalties for hate crimes at the state level -- but that her office did the best it could under the current law.
