mustdeport
04-07-2008, 04:06 PM
Go and post your thoughts about this matter...
http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/apr/04/sentencing-set-for-camarillo-man-who-admitted/
Sentencing set for Camarillo man who admitted committing hate crime
From staff reports
Friday, April 4, 2008
A 38-year-old Camarillo man will be sentenced later this month after he pleaded guilty Wednesday to throwing an object at a van and yelling racial slurs at a woman and her 14-year-old son.
Leland Michael Houston admitted that he committed a hate crime Sept. 8, when the incident occurred on Highway 101 in Camarillo.
Ventura County Superior Court Judge Bruce Clark set the sentencing date for April 30.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Karen Wold said in an interview that Houston could get seven years in prison. However, it is very likely that the felony will be reduced to a misdemeanor and he will get probation.
Houston "intentionally and maliciously" threw an object that could have caused serious injury to someone, she said.
"We will not tolerate hate crimes in this county," Wold said. "People who engage in that type of behavior will be prosecuted if the case is provable."
Court records show that the woman and her son were traveling north on Highway 101 near Flynn Road when Houston drove his vehicle beside her and began yelling racial slurs at her.
He threw an object or objects that cracked her windshield, court records show.
The woman's car had a bumper sticker that stated: "I (with a heart-shaped symbol) Love Illegal Immigrants," according to court documents.
Ventura County Sheriff's Department deputies searched the area and found Houston. The woman and her son identified him as the assailant.
http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/apr/04/sentencing-set-for-camarillo-man-who-admitted/
Sentencing set for Camarillo man who admitted committing hate crime
From staff reports
Friday, April 4, 2008
A 38-year-old Camarillo man will be sentenced later this month after he pleaded guilty Wednesday to throwing an object at a van and yelling racial slurs at a woman and her 14-year-old son.
Leland Michael Houston admitted that he committed a hate crime Sept. 8, when the incident occurred on Highway 101 in Camarillo.
Ventura County Superior Court Judge Bruce Clark set the sentencing date for April 30.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Karen Wold said in an interview that Houston could get seven years in prison. However, it is very likely that the felony will be reduced to a misdemeanor and he will get probation.
Houston "intentionally and maliciously" threw an object that could have caused serious injury to someone, she said.
"We will not tolerate hate crimes in this county," Wold said. "People who engage in that type of behavior will be prosecuted if the case is provable."
Court records show that the woman and her son were traveling north on Highway 101 near Flynn Road when Houston drove his vehicle beside her and began yelling racial slurs at her.
He threw an object or objects that cracked her windshield, court records show.
The woman's car had a bumper sticker that stated: "I (with a heart-shaped symbol) Love Illegal Immigrants," according to court documents.
Ventura County Sheriff's Department deputies searched the area and found Houston. The woman and her son identified him as the assailant.