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Biddeford Men Indicted for Hate Crime Assault
Two men from Biddeford, Maine, have been indicted for a hate crime assault on an African-American man, leaving him with bodily injuries. Maurice Diggins, 34, and Dusty Leo, 27, allegedly targeted the victim because of his race.
According to the indictment, on April 15, the defendants drove a truck into the parking lot of a 7-Eleven convenience store at a high rate of speed, blocking the victim’s entry into the store. Diggins repeatedly called the victim a racial slur, while Leo struck him forcefully in the head.
The defendants then followed the victim in the truck, continuing to shout racial epithets as he ran away. If convicted, Diggins and Leo face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the hate crime charge, and five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the conspiracy charge.
The case was investigated by the Biddeford Police Department and the FBI. Assistant United States Attorney Sheila W. Sawyer of the District of Maine and Trial Attorney Timothy Visser of the Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case.
Diggins and Leo were arrested on Friday and made their initial appearances in U.S. District Court in Portland today. An indictment is merely an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act prohibits willfully causing bodily injury to any person because of the actual or perceived race of that person. The law is named after two men who were brutally murdered in separate incidents in 1998.
The indictment alleges that the defendants’ actions were a clear violation of the law and a disturbing example of hate crime violence. The case serves as a reminder that hate crimes will not be tolerated in our society.
Key Facts
- State: Maine
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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