Nigel Garrett, Cameron Ajiduah, Hate Crimes, Texas 2017
Two Texas men pleaded guilty to a federal hate crime for assaults based on the victim's sexual orientation, the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Eastern District of Texas announced.
Nigel Garrett, 21, and Cameron Ajiduah, 18, used the social media dating platform Grindr to target their victims. Garrett, along with Anthony Shelton and Chancler Encalade, restrained the victim with tape, physically assaulted the victim, and made derogatory statements for being gay. They brandished a firearm during the home invasion and stole the victim's property, including his motor vehicle.
A separate plea agreement signed by Ajiduah included the same scheme on a different victim, restraining the victim and covering his eyes with tape, verbally berating him for his sexual orientation, and physically assaulting him.
A federal grand jury previously returned an eighteen-count indictment against Ajiduah, Shelton, Garrett, and Chancler Encalade including charges of hate crimes, kidnappings, carjackings, and the use of firearms to commit violent crimes.
The indictment also charged the defendants with conspiring to cause bodily injury because of the victim's sexual orientation during four home invasions in Plano, Frisco, and Aubrey, Texas, between January 17 and February 7, 2017.
Garrett and Ajiduah face a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine for their guilty plea for the hate crime charge.
The investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Plano Police Department, and the Frisco Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracey Batson of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Texas and Trial Attorney Saeed Mody of the Civil Rights Division.
Defendant: Nigel Garrett
Crime: Hate Crimes
City and State: Texas
Date: January 19, 2017 (plea agreement), February 7, 2017 (plea agreement)
Sentence: Life in prison and $250,000 fine
Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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