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Senior Editor
"Hate Crime" trial of 3 Skins who beat nigger wraps up
Hate crimes trial to wrap up
Jury hears final arguments in case against white supremacists
POMONA - A prosecutor urged jurors to convict three white men of attempted murder, assault and hate-crime charges Tuesday for what he described as the "vicious, brutal" attack of a black man in Claremont.
During closing arguments in the trial of Anthony Allen, Joseph McCool and Ryan White, Deputy District Attorney George Castello told jurors the trio kicked and stabbed Charles Washington last year outside a liquor store for no reason other than the color of his skin.
"Is there any other conclusion regarding the motivation for this attack?" Castello asked. "These men do not like black people, and they went into a frenzy."
The men, all accused of being members of a white supremacist gang, have been on trial the past week in connection with the Dec. 8, 2006, beating of Washington.
All deny the charges.
The men were part of a group on its way from San Bernardino County to Westwood for a white supremacist rally when they pulled off the Indian Hill Boulevard exit of the 10 Freeway in Claremont for a bathroom break.
While stopped at a shopping center at Indian Hill and San Jose Avenue, members of the group encountered Washington and another black man leaving a nearby liquor store. A fight ensued, during which Washington was stabbed six times with a large hunting knife and repeatedly kicked.
Washington survived.
Lawyers for Allen, 24, White, 29, and McCool, 21, concede that their clients were present when Washington received the beating, but say that does not make them guilty of the crimes charged.
Allen's attorney, Gary Meastas, argued Tuesday that prosecutors failed to prove Allen either participated in the assault or encouraged it.
The attorney admitted Allen is a white supremacist who holds "vile, sickening and disgusting" racial views, but told jurors they would be wrong to convict him based upon that alone.
"That's not the issue, that's not your task, and that's not what you're supposed to do," Meastas told the jury.
White's attorney, Rudy Aguirre, made a similar claim as he began his closing argument Tuesday afternoon.
"Is this case about racial hatred? No, it's not," Aguirre said. "This case is about whether the prosecution has met their burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt."
White's attorney will continue his closing argument when the trial resumes this morning in Pomona Superior Court. McCool's attorney also will argue today before the case goes to the jury.
The prosecutor, meanwhile, told jurors Tuesday that evidence of the men's guilt is overwhelming.
All three were proud members of the white supremacist Skinheads gang, Castello said. They dressed the part, have racist tattoos and kept hateful Nazi banners and propaganda in their homes, he said.
Castello told jurors that evidence in the trial proved that as Washington and his friend left the liquor store, they were confronted first by Allen, and then surrounded by the other men.
Words were exchanged, the white men used racial epithets, and fists began to fly, Castello said. Washington's friend smacked and knocked down a woman who was with the white men.
Washington took a swing at one of his assailants and either fell or was knocked down from behind, Castello told jurors. Once down, he laid in a fetal position as the group of white men kicked and stabbed him, all while still making racially provocative statements, the prosecutor told jurors.
"We know what these men did," Castello said. "We've had witness, after witness, after witness tell us."
The assault was short, and the men fled in their cars afterward, authorities said. A witness reported a license plate number to police, and the men were arrested in Westwood the next day.
The racially diverse jury listened intently during the arguments Tuesday. They could begin deliberating as soon as today.
Hate crimes trial to wrap up
Jury hears final arguments in case against white supremacists
POMONA - A prosecutor urged jurors to convict three white men of attempted murder, assault and hate-crime charges Tuesday for what he described as the "vicious, brutal" attack of a black man in Claremont.
During closing arguments in the trial of Anthony Allen, Joseph McCool and Ryan White, Deputy District Attorney George Castello told jurors the trio kicked and stabbed Charles Washington last year outside a liquor store for no reason other than the color of his skin.
"Is there any other conclusion regarding the motivation for this attack?" Castello asked. "These men do not like black people, and they went into a frenzy."
The men, all accused of being members of a white supremacist gang, have been on trial the past week in connection with the Dec. 8, 2006, beating of Washington.
All deny the charges.
The men were part of a group on its way from San Bernardino County to Westwood for a white supremacist rally when they pulled off the Indian Hill Boulevard exit of the 10 Freeway in Claremont for a bathroom break.
While stopped at a shopping center at Indian Hill and San Jose Avenue, members of the group encountered Washington and another black man leaving a nearby liquor store. A fight ensued, during which Washington was stabbed six times with a large hunting knife and repeatedly kicked.
Washington survived.
Lawyers for Allen, 24, White, 29, and McCool, 21, concede that their clients were present when Washington received the beating, but say that does not make them guilty of the crimes charged.
Allen's attorney, Gary Meastas, argued Tuesday that prosecutors failed to prove Allen either participated in the assault or encouraged it.
The attorney admitted Allen is a white supremacist who holds "vile, sickening and disgusting" racial views, but told jurors they would be wrong to convict him based upon that alone.
"That's not the issue, that's not your task, and that's not what you're supposed to do," Meastas told the jury.
White's attorney, Rudy Aguirre, made a similar claim as he began his closing argument Tuesday afternoon.
"Is this case about racial hatred? No, it's not," Aguirre said. "This case is about whether the prosecution has met their burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt."
White's attorney will continue his closing argument when the trial resumes this morning in Pomona Superior Court. McCool's attorney also will argue today before the case goes to the jury.
The prosecutor, meanwhile, told jurors Tuesday that evidence of the men's guilt is overwhelming.
All three were proud members of the white supremacist Skinheads gang, Castello said. They dressed the part, have racist tattoos and kept hateful Nazi banners and propaganda in their homes, he said.
Castello told jurors that evidence in the trial proved that as Washington and his friend left the liquor store, they were confronted first by Allen, and then surrounded by the other men.
Words were exchanged, the white men used racial epithets, and fists began to fly, Castello said. Washington's friend smacked and knocked down a woman who was with the white men.
Washington took a swing at one of his assailants and either fell or was knocked down from behind, Castello told jurors. Once down, he laid in a fetal position as the group of white men kicked and stabbed him, all while still making racially provocative statements, the prosecutor told jurors.
"We know what these men did," Castello said. "We've had witness, after witness, after witness tell us."
The assault was short, and the men fled in their cars afterward, authorities said. A witness reported a license plate number to police, and the men were arrested in Westwood the next day.
The racially diverse jury listened intently during the arguments Tuesday. They could begin deliberating as soon as today.
Rene Ray De La Cruz