Thomson Penitentiary Inmate, Hate Crime Murder, Illinois 2024

Related Federal Cases

Thomson Inmate, Murder, Thomson IL, 2024 · Illinois
U.S. Attorney and FBI Officials Investigated for Hate Crime Reporti… · Illinois
Reseda Man Hoards Guns, Hate, & Meth: Feds Raid Extremist’s Home · Illinois
Lori Milliron, Zambia Safari Murder, Lusaka Zambia, 2009 · Alabama
F13 Gang Members Plead Guilty to Murder of LAPD Officer, Los Angele… · Illinois

Table of Contents

Thomson Penitentiary Inmates Charged in Hate Crime Murder

ROCKFORD, IL – Two inmates at Thomson Penitentiary in Thomson, Ill., have been charged with murder and hate crime in connection with the beating death of a fellow inmate.

Brandon C. Simonson, 37, also known as ‘Whitey,’ and Kristopher S. Martin, 39, also known as ‘No Luck,’ were each charged with conspiracy to commit murder, second-degree murder, hate crime, and assault resulting in serious bodily injury, according to an indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Rockford.

The indictment alleges that Martin and Simonson, who were members of a white supremacist group called the Valhalla Bound Skinheads, conspired to assault Matthew Phillips, a fellow inmate, because of his actual and perceived race and religion, namely Jewish, on March 2, 2020.

Martin and Simonson allegedly continuously struck Phillips in the upper body, face, and head even after he became defenseless, according to the charges.

The maximum sentence for conspiracy to commit murder, second-degree murder, and hate crime is life imprisonment, while the maximum sentence for the assault charge is ten years.

The indictment comes after an investigation by the FBI’s Chicago Field Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois.

‘Hatred and violence on the basis of religion have no place in our society,’ said U.S. Attorney John R. Lausch, Jr. ‘We will continue to work with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to protect the civil rights of all Americans.’

The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.