SACRAMENTO – A 34-year-old man was sentenced Tuesday to nearly five years in prison for his role in a racially motivated attack where a white man was brutally assaulted because he was with a black woman.
U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez sentenced Anthony Merrell Tyler, 34, of Yuba City, to three years and 10 months in prison for a hate crime, officials said.
The crime involved a racially motivated attack by Tyler and two co-defendants, Billy Hammett, 30, and Perry Jackson, 29, on a white man and an African-American woman in Marysville in 2011. In addition to the prison sentence, the judge ordered Tyler to serve three years of supervised release upon his release from prison and to pay $175 in restitution, according to authorities.
During the sentencing, Judge Mendez considered the defendants’ backgrounds and criminal histories, officials said.
Tyler has the words “white pride” tattooed down the backs of his arms and a swastika on his left upper arm. He has previously acknowledged being a member of the Yuba County Peckerwoods, a local white supremacist group, according to authorities.
Hammett, who has a tattoo of the words “white power” across his abdomen, was sentenced on March 25 to more than seven years in prison.
He was previously convicted for the unprovoked assault on a 72-year-old African-American man. Jackson, who has the words “white power” tattooed in block letters down his shins, was sentenced on April 29, 2014, to more than five years in prison. Tyler entered his guilty plea on March 11, officials said.
“No person should be victimized by another, let alone suffer an unprovoked, violent attack at the hands of a group motivated solely by hatred and prejudice,” said Special Agent in Charge Monica M. Miller of the Sacramento FBI. “Such bias-motivated crimes should be an unfortunate mark of the past; however, the FBI will thoroughly investigate such allegations to ensure justice is served.”
According to documents filed with the court, around 10:45 p.m. on April 18, 2011, a white man and an African-American woman parked their car at a convenience store in Marysville.
Shortly afterward, the three defendants attacked the man and woman because of their race. Jackson punched him twice in the head through the open passenger window.
At the same time, Hammett opened the driver-side door and kicked the woman in the chest.
Seconds later, Tyler smashed the car’s windshield with a crowbar, sending shattered glass into the passenger compartment. As the attack continued, the woman managed to take refuge inside the convenience store, and the man struggled to get away.
All three assailants then descended upon the male victim and began attacking him in the parking lot. He sustained abrasions on his right forearm and knees, while the woman suffered bruising to her chest. None of the defendants knew the victims.
“Racially motivated violence not only threatens the harmony of our diverse communities, it undermines the principle of equality under law, which is a foundation of our society,” said U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner. “For these reasons, prosecuting hate crimes will continue to be one of our highest priorities.”