SHOOTING LABELED A HATE CRIME; LANCASTER MAN CHARGED.Byline: Karen Maeshiro Daily News Staff Writer A 19-year-old Lancaster man has been charged with attempted murder In the criminal law, attempted murder is committed when the defendant does an act that is more than merely preparatory to the commission of the crime of murder and, at the time of these acts, the person has a specific intention to kill. in what prosecutors are alleging was a racially motivated shooting in October outside a Taco Bell Taco Bell Corp., a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., is a Mexican-style quick service restaurant chain based in Irvine, California, United States. The restaurant has locations primarily in the United States and Canada, but also operates outlets in several other markets. restaurant. Tom Deal is accused of driving a car from which shots were fired at another car containing an African-American woman, two African-American men and two white men, officials said. ``Three of the victims were black and he's white. It's alleged the attack was racially motivated,'' said Sandi Gibbons Famous people named Gibbons include:
No one was injured in the incident, which occurred Oct. 24 near the Taco Bell restaurant at 20th Street East and Avenue J. The crime was the latest in a string during the past two years that has brought the Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley notoriety and resulted in the creation by local and federal law enforcement officials of the Antelope Valley Hate Crimes Task Force. That task force just five weeks ago was credited with linking the unsolved beating death of a Lancaster transient in 1995 to three reputed skinheads Noun 1. skinheads - a youth subculture that appeared first in England in the late 1960s as a working-class reaction to the hippies; hair was cropped close to the scalp; wore work-shirts and short jeans (supported by suspenders) and heavy red boots; involved in attacks - two of whom had been convicted of other hate crimes. The Oct. 24 shooting appears to have been precipitated by an incident between the occupants of both cars as they were going through the restaurant's drive-through lane, sheriff's Detective Brian Moriguchi said. He declined to say what the incident was about. One car with three men inside left, but returned a few minutes later. A passenger fired five shots at the victims' car, which was exiting the shopping center shopping center, a concentration of retail, service, and entertainment enterprises designed to serve the surrounding region. The modern shopping center differs from its antecedents—bazaars and marketplaces—in that the shops are usually amalgamated into parking lot, Moriguchi said. Prosecutors said Deal was the driver of the car. The shooter, whose identity was not released, has not been arrested. ``The motive behind the shooting was based on the victims' race or their perceived race,'' Moriguchi said. ``I'm not able to find any other motive other than some racial things that were done toward the victims. They weren't remarks, but hand gestures.'' In addition, Moriguchi said witnesses who know the assailants have told investigators that race was the reason for the attack. Moriguchi said white supremacist white supremacist n. One who believes that white people are racially superior to others and should therefore dominate society. white supremacy n. Noun 1. materials were found during a search of Deal's home. Deal's attorney, Larry Layton, said he could not discuss the facts of the case but that he felt prosecutors should not have filed attempted-murder charges. ``The arrest report said some people shot five times at a car,'' Layton said. ``Based on that, the District Attorney's Office in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. chose to file five counts of attempted murder. ``Without going into the facts of the case, it's a complete, total overcharging of the case. They should have charged (Deal based on) drive-by shooting drive-by shooting Public health A phenomenon in which one or more persons–commonly members of street gangs, open fire à la Al Capone from moving vehicles, often in retaliation for an alleged wrong-doing by a rival gang statutes.'' Deal pleaded not guilty Wednesday to five counts of attempted murder and hate-crime allegations attached to three of those counts. He was being held on $2.5 million bail, Layton said. Deal will appear Wednesday in Los Angeles Municipal Court for a bail review and again Dec. 15 for a preliminary hearing. |
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