Three Yuba County Men Charged with Hate Crime for Attack on African-American Woman and White Man

SACRAMENTO, CA—Billy James Hammett, 28, and Perry Sylvester Jackson, 27, both of Marysville; and Anthony Merrell Tyler, 32, of Olivehurst, were arrested today on federal hate crime charges for their racially motivated attack on an African-American woman and white man in Marysville, on April 18, 2011.
Hammett and Jackson were arrested today in Marysville and were arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dale A. Drozd. Not guilty pleas were entered. They will appear before U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez on January 29, 2013, at 9:45 a.m. Tyler surrendered today in Sacramento and will be arraigned on Wednesday.
The defendants were charged in a three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Sacramento and unsealed today. They are charged with one count of conspiracy and two counts of violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. The Shepard-Byrd Act criminalizes certain acts of physical violence causing bodily injury motivated by any person’s actual or perceived race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability.
The indictment alleges that when an African-American woman accompanied by a white male drove into the parking lot of a convenience store, Jackson called the male a “n—— lover.” Hammett then approached the driver’s side of the car, using a racial epithet to refer to the African-American driver, while Jackson and Tyler attacked from the other side of the car. The indictment further alleges that Hammett and Jackson punched and kicked the African-American woman driver and white male passenger and that Tyler smashed the car windshield with a crowbar.
If convicted, the defendants could face a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 on the conspiracy charge and 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 on each of the two hate-crime charges. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory sentencing factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
This case is the product on an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Yuba County Sheriff’s Office, and the Yuba County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney R. Steven Lapham and Trial Attorney Chiraag Bains from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

Joliet Man Pleads Guilty to Setting Fire in 2007 to Home of Neighboring African-American Family

CHICAGO—A Joliet man is facing an agreed maximum 10-year prison sentence after pleading guilty today to a federal civil rights crime for setting fire to the home of an African-American family on his street in 2007. The defendant, Brian James Moudry, admitted that at approximately 4 a.m. on June 17, 2007, he carried a can containing gasoline to the home, splashed the gasoline on the residence, and ignited it. No one was injured, although the home was occupied by eight children and an adult at the time of the fire.
Moudry, 36, formerly of the 300 block of South Reed Street, Joliet, pleaded guilty to using fire to interfere with the housing rights on the basis of race under the terms of an agreement that, if accepted, provide he will be sentenced to the maximum of 10 years on that count. U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman scheduled sentencing for 10 a.m. on April 26.
Moudry has remained in federal custody without bond since he was arrested on May 30, 2012.
“One of our most important responsibilities is to protect members of all racial and ethnic groups from intimidation and violence,” said Gary S. Shapiro, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, who announced the guilty plea with Cory B. Nelson, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
According to the plea agreement, Moudry was upset that an African-American family rented a house at 318 South Reed St., on the same block as his house. He admitted that he set the fire because African-Americans were occupying the home and that he intended to interfere with their continued ability to rent the residence and to intimidate the owner from continuing to rent to African-Americans.
The government is being ­represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nancy DePodesta and Steven Dollear.

Mississippi Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Commit Hate Crimes Against African-Americans in Jackson

WASHINGTON—Joseph Dominick, 21, from Brandon, Mississippi, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Jackson, Mississippi, to one count of conspiracy to commit federal hate crimes in connection with his role in the assault of African-Americans in Jackson. Defendants Deryl Paul Dedmon, 20; John Aaron Rice, 19; Dylan Wade Butler, 21; William Kirk Montgomery, 23; and Jonathan Kyle Gaskamp, 20, all from Brandon, have previously entered guilty pleas in connection with their roles in these offenses. The conspiracy culminated in the death of James Craig Anderson, who was assaulted and killed on June 26, 2011.
The investigation conducted by the FBI revealed that, beginning in the spring of 2011, Dominick and others conspired with one another to harass and assault African-Americans in and around Jackson. On numerous occasions, the co-conspirators used dangerous weapons, including beer bottles, sling shots and motor vehicles, to cause, and attempt to cause, bodily injury to African-Americans. They would specifically target African-Americans they believed to be homeless or under the influence of alcohol because they believed that such individuals would be less likely to report an assault. The co-conspirators would often boast about these racially motivated assaults.
On an occasion predating the death of Mr. Anderson, Dominick, Montgomery, Butler, and others known to the government traveled to Jackson in Dominick’s truck for the purpose of finding and assaulting vulnerable African-Americans. The co-conspirators threw multiple glass beer bottles at African-American pedestrians. Dominick and his co-conspirators also purchased a sling shot and metal ball bearings to shoot at African-Americans and then took turns shooting the sling shot at multiple African-Americans they encountered.
On June 25, 2011, Dominick and others attended a party/bonfire in Puckett, Mississippi, to celebrate Dominick’s birthday. During the party, Dominick and others talked about going to Jackson to harass and assault African-Americans. By the early morning hours of June 26, 2011, Montgomery, Dedmon, Rice, Butler, and three other co-conspirators known to the government agreed to carry out their plan to find, harass and assault African-Americans. Dominick did not go to Jackson on June 26, 2011. That evening culminated in Dedmon deliberately using his Ford F250 truck to run over Mr. Anderson, causing injuries that resulted in Mr. Anderson’s death.
“We hope that today’s guilty plea provides further assurance to the victim’s family and to the community that the Department of Justice will leave no stone unturned to find those responsible for these senseless racially motivated attacks,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “Our investigation is ongoing, and we will continue to pursue those who participated in this violent conspiracy, which culminated in the tragic death of James Craig Anderson.”
“The acts carried out by Dominick and his co-conspirators against African-Americans are absolutely reprehensible. Bringing these individuals to justice is a top priority of this office and we will continue to assist the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division in this investigation,” said U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis.
Daniel McMullen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Jackson Field Office, said, “The FBI continues to investigate the hate fueled assaults on African-Americans in and around Jackson, Mississippi, which include the attack on and resulting death of James Anderson on June 26, 2011. This behavior, which seeks to deprive others of their civil rights based on the color of their skin, cannot be tolerated.”
These guilty pleas were the result of a cooperative effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi, the United States Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, and the Hinds County District Attorney’s Office. This case was investigated by the Jackson Division of the FBI and the Jackson Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Sheldon L. Beer and Deputy Chief Paige M. Fitzgerald of the Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Glenda R. Haynes of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi