by OnoI812 » Fri Dec 23, 2005 12:19 am
or no hate crime?<br><br>It appears no hate crime was brought against these guys because apparently there were drugs involved?<br><br>am I reading this right?<br><br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/news/local/13420224.htm">www.myrtlebeachonline.com...420224.htm</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br><br><!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>2 going to prison on charge of carjacking<br>The Associated Press<br><br>FLORENCE - Two Hartsville men who pleaded guilty to federal carjacking charges in an incident in which a man was chained to a pickup truck and dragged through a field have been sentenced to prison.<br><br>Kenneth Smith, 41, was sentenced to 14 years in prison Wednesday by U.S. District Judge R. Bryan Harwell. Lamont McKay, 27, was sentenced to seven years.<br><br>Prosecutors sought the reduced sentence for McKay because they said he cooperated in the case.<br><br>Each man had faced a maximum of 25 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.<br><br>The two men began arguing with the victim over a drug deal at a Darlington County store in January, then struck him in the head and robbed him, prosecutors said.<br><br>The men forced the victim into his own pickup truck, ordered him to drive to a nearby field and made him take his clothes off, authorities said.<br><br>The victim was then beaten with a tire iron and burned with a cigarette lighter, <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>chained to the truck and dragged up the road</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END-->, prosecutors said.<br><br>The victim said he was able to escape when the men turned a corner.<br><br>The victim recovered from his injuries, which included cuts and bruises.<br><br>The Darlington County Sheriff's Office had charged the men with assault and battery with intent to kill, kidnapping and armed robbery.<br><br>The victim, who is white, said Smith and McKay, who are black, made racial slurs while chaining him to the truck.<br><br>Authorities said they do not doubt the comments were made but said the crime did not appear to be racially motivated, because the robbery occurred first.</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=onoi812>OnoI812</A> at: 12/22/05 9:20 pm<br></i>
