Two male suspects
who have been arrested on charges of beating
42-year-old Jimmy Lee Dean will not be prosecuted under
hate-crime charges, according to The Dallas Morning
News. Prosecutors involved in the case say that the two
men, Bobby Singleton, 29, and Jonathan Gunter, 31,
both of Garland, will face the maximum penalty if
found guilty, making the additional hate-crime
categorization unnecessary. Each suspect currently faces a
charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a
first-degree felony that, with a conviction, will put
each man in prison for as many as 99 years.
The July 17 crime
took place at approximately 1 a.m., when the suspects
allegedly approached Dean, kicking and hitting him with a
handgun and inflicting injuries that
required hospitalization. Witnesses claim to have
heard antigay language during the attack.
Though the
prosecution will not pursue hate-crime charges, the Dallas
police have said that they will categorize the attack as a
hate crime for statistical purposes. According to
The Dallas Morning News, "Through
June, Dallas police reported seven hate crimes,
including two antigay offenses."
The two suspects,
who have not yet been indicted, are currently each
being held on more than $300,000 bail, according to Dallas
County Jail records. (The Advocate)
