February 22, 2014
19-Year-Old Accused of Hate Crime Beating
Bobby McGuire READ TIME: 1 MIN.
DALLAS - Federal prosecutors have accused a 19-year-old North Texas man of a hate crime for an attack that left a gay man hospitalized for 10 days with skull and face fractures.
Brice Johnson is accused of contacting a man using the MeetMe phone app and engaging in a conversation that turned sexual. Prosecutors say that Johnson invited the man to his home, then began to beat him.
Prosecutors allege Johnson bound the victim's wrists, placed him in the trunk of his car and drove him to a family friend's home. They say he eventually drove the man to an EMS station.
Johnson could face 10 years in prison if convicted under federal hate crime law.
His attorney, Peter Fleury, did not immediately respond to an email message.
