Two Florida males had been sentenced at this time in federal courtroom within the Middle District of Florida for hate crime expenses in reference to their racially-motivated assault in opposition to a Black man in Citrus Springs.
Roy Lashley, 56, was sentenced to 60 months in jail, and his brother, Robert Lashley, 52, was sentenced to 36 months in jail.
According to the information admitted within the defendants’ pleas, on Nov. 17, 2021, Roy and Robert Lashley traveled to the Family Dollar in Citrus Springs, the place the sufferer, a Black man, was buying inside. After Roy Lashley repeatedly used racial slurs inside the shop in reference to the sufferer, each Roy and Robert Lashley adopted the sufferer into the parking zone. There, Robert Lashley ran to the sufferer and hit him quite a few instances, whereas Roy Lashley retrieved an axe deal with from the mattress of his truck, ran to the scene, and struck the sufferer a number of instances with it. Both Roy and Robert Lashley directed racial slurs in direction of the sufferer earlier than, throughout, and after the assault. The sufferer sustained painful accidents to his face and legs, together with a laceration to the within of his mouth. Both Roy and Robert Lashley admitted that they willfully prompted bodily harm to the sufferer and acted due to the sufferer’s precise or perceived race or colour.
“Driven by bigotry and hate, the defendants brutally assaulted a Black man for no other reason than his race,” stated Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Racially-motivated violence is abhorrent, unlawful and has no place in America today. Aggressive prosecution of hate crimes is a top priority for the Civil Rights Division, and these sentences should send a message to others who would carry out similar acts of violence that they will be brought to justice.”
“The brutal attack against the victim in this case was motivated by hate and bigotry,” stated U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg for the Middle District of Florida. “Because of the great determination and cooperation between our federal and local law enforcement partners, we were able to bring these callous criminals to justice.”
“Civil rights investigations are at the heart of what we do at the FBI,” Special Agent in Charge Sherri E. Onks of the FBI Jacksonville Field Office. “Hate crimes are not only an attack on the victim; they are meant to threaten and intimidate an entire community. Because of their wide-ranging impact, investigating hate crimes is among the FBI’s highest priorities, and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to seek justice for victims and their communities.”
Assistant Attorney General Clarke, U.S. Attorney Handberg and Special Agent in Charge Onks made the announcement.
The FBI and the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office investigated the matter.
Trial Attorneys Maura White and Matthew Tannenbaum of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney William Hamilton for the Middle District of Florida prosecuted the case.
For extra information and assets in regards to the division’s work to fight hate crimes, go to www.justice.gov/hatecrimes.