Defendant Fired Shotgun Round Toward Victim and Shouted,
“Move … Out of Oildale”
After a five-day trial, a federal jury found Justin Cole
Whittington, 25, of Bakersfield, California, guilty of federal hate crimes for
firing a shotgun while yelling racist slurs at a Latino man.
The conviction was announced by Principal Deputy Assistant
Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights
Division, and U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert of the Eastern District of
California.
Whittington was convicted today of interfering with a
person’s housing rights because of his race, color or national origin by use of
force or threat of force; use of a firearm during a crime of violence; and
making a false statement to a special agent of the FBI. Whittington had earlier pleaded guilty to
unlawful possession of a prohibited firearm in connection to the same crime.
“Whittington used violence to terrorize an innocent man and
his family,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Gupta. “The harm from hate crimes like this one
extends beyond individuals and threatens the security, freedom and well-being
of entire communities. No conviction can
reverse that harm but this verdict does provide a measure of justice for the
victim, his family and his community.”
“The Eastern District of California is a community of
different races, ethnicities and backgrounds,” said U.S. Attorney Talbert. “This defendant tried to strike at the
diversity that enriches us by making a cowardly and unprovoked attack on a man
who was simply standing in his front yard with his family. Hate crimes like this have profound effects
not only on the victims, but on those in the victims’ communities, making them
feel vulnerable and unsafe. Our office
is committed to investigating and prosecuting those who violate the civil
rights of others and enforcing laws against hate crimes will remain one of the
core missions of this office.”
According to court documents, on Dec. 19, 2012, the victim,
a Latino man, was standing in his front yard with his wife and son when a
dark-colored PT Cruiser drove past slowly and came to a stop in front of his
neighbor’s house. Whittington, whom the
victim had never seen before, got out of the front passenger seat of the car
holding a sawed-off shotgun. Whittington
used profanity and shouted a racial epithet as he fired one round toward the
victim from about 15 yards away, and yelled that the victim should move out of
Oildale, California. Whittington got
back into the vehicle and drove off.
Shortly thereafter, the shotgun was fired from the car at a nearby
convenience store owned by a man of Middle Eastern descent. The blast left a large hole in the store’s
glass door and circles of missing paint on the metal gate in front of the
store.
According to evidence presented at trial, the victim was
able to describe Whittington and the car to Kern County, California, Sheriff’s
deputies, and they found Whittington nearby standing outside the PT
Cruiser. The deputies recovered a
sawed-off shotgun in the trunk of Whittington’s Crown Victoria, which was
parked near the PT Cruiser.
Whittington was also found guilty of making false statements
to an FBI agent when he claimed that on the evening of the incident, he had
been paid by someone to keep the sawed-off shotgun in the trunk of his car.
According to court documents and evidence presented at
trial, the victim and his family no longer felt safe in their home and, as soon
as they had the financial means to do so, they moved from the neighborhood.
Whittington is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District
Judge Dale A. Drozd of the Eastern District of California on Feb. 27,
2017. Whittington faces a maximum sentence
of life in prison and a $250,000 fine.
This case was investigated by the FBI and the Kern County
Sheriff’s Office. The case is being
prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian K. Delaney of the Eastern District
of California and Trial Attorney Samantha Trepel of the Civil Rights Division’s
Criminal Section.
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