Police: White Supremacists Brand Swastika on Mentally Challenged Man
A disturbing crime in New Mexico -- three men are accused of branding a swastika on a mentally challenged man's arm. Prosecutors say they will pursue hate crimes charges against the men.
The men -- Jesse Sanford, 24, William Hatch, 28, and Paul Beebe, 26, allegedly forced the 22-year-old victim from the Navajo Indian reservation into a car and driving him to an apartment. Once there, they allegedly branded him using a heated metal clothes hanger. Police say they also shaved a swastika into his hair and drew degrading words and pictures on his body with permanent marker.
After police say they kicked him out of the apartment, a clerk at a convenience store found him and called 911.
Police took the victim to a hospital, where they were able to wash off the degrading speech and pictures. A barber cut the man's hair to remove the swastika. Police are also talking with a plastic surgeon about having the tattoo removed.
The men later were arrested and charged with kidnapping, aggravated battery causing great bodily harm and other felony charges. They are in jail -- bail is set at $150,000.
"We'll explore every conceivable available avenue in charging them with a hate crime because what happened to the victim was so horribly wrong," said Chief Deputy District Attorney Sarah Weaver.
A search of the suspects' apartment turned up evidence that the men are involved with white supremacists. "We haven't identified this as a gang-related crime. That is still under investigation," Sgt. Robert Perez said. "But they appear to be associated in some fashion to the white supremacist movement."
But the suspects are telling a different story. Sanford told police the victim came into a McDonald's restaurant where the three men worked and was looking for a place to stay. Sanford claimed that the victim asked for the haircut and a tattoo. He said he "wanted the swastika design because it was a tribal symbol," according to court records.
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This is Sickening and Wrong.
They did this to a Mentally Ill person.
Nothing Justifies this Nothing.
Neo-Nazism is Terrorism end of Story.
No other words can describe this horrendous infamy. The very idea of branding a human being or even an animal with any symbol of hate or with a torture instrument comes shreiking out of the dark ages. The malcontents who perpetrated this gross atrocity deserve life imprisonment. Sadly, that won't do anything to help the poor victim, and I don't think a jury or judge would give them that sentence.
I hope these sonsabitches spend their next few years playing "pick up the soap" with worse criminals than themselves.
Put the punks in jail and make them celebrate diversity.....put them in cells with folks that have been there a while...show them the ropes ......make sure their cell mates are of diverse nationalities ......
Not only is this a hate crime , the fact that the crime was committed against someone who is mentally challenged, is another issue that should be explored. Terroristic threats is another charge that should be levied. This DA needs to get on the ball.
They should be punished for hurting this mentally ill man, true. I'm just curious as to what the "terrorist-like threats" you mentioned happen to be?
To add the charge or terroristic threat will make other charge stick.....terror is not just that of the 9/11 variety....however, since 9/11 the charge has become a very weighted one.
Just because I disagree with White Supremacy it does not mean they should be given a more harsh charge, such as terror charges , in order to make sure they're convicted of a crime that's already horrible. There's only one victim and these three men did not threaten the security of our daily lives.
If Hasan was not charged with terrorism , I don't see how this can be considered terrorism. That's why I questioned your reasons for calling this terrorism. It seems more like a hate crime than anything.