![\"texas-home-invasion\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.towleroad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/texas-home-invasion.jpg?resize=480%2C300\")
<\/p>\nFour Men Plead Guilty to Federal Hate Crime Charges for Targeting Gay Men on Grindr, Assaulting Them in Home Invasions<\/b><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Four Texas men<\/a> have pleaded guilty to federal hate crime charges for targeting gay<\/a> men<\/a> in home invasions after meeting the victims on Grindr.<\/p>\n In May, a grand jury returned an 18-count indictment <\/a>against Anthony Shelton (19) Nigel Garrett, (21), Chancler Encalade (20), and Cameron Ajiduah (20) for four separate home invasions in Plano, Frisco and Aubrey between January 17th and February 7th.<\/p>\n From the DOJ<\/a>:<\/p>\n Chancler Encalade, 20, pleaded guilty today to assaulting a man<\/a> because of the victim\u2019s sexual orientation, the Justice Department\u2019s Civil Rights Division, the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office of the Eastern District of Texas, and U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives\u2019 Dallas Division announced.<\/p>\n According to the plea agreement, Encalade admitted that he, Nigel Garrett, and Anthony Shelton used Grindr, a social media dating platform for gay<\/a> men<\/a>, to arrange to meet the victim at the victim\u2019s home. Upon entering the victim\u2019s home, the defendants restrained the victim with tape, physically assaulted the victim, and made derogatory statements to the victim for being gay<\/a>. The defendants brandished a firearm during the home invasion, and they stole the victim\u2019s property, including his motor vehicle.<\/p>\n A federal grand jury previously had returned an eighteen-count superseding indictment, against Encalade and three other men<\/a>, which included charges for 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 victims\u2019 sexual orientation during four home invasions in Plano, Frisco, and Aubrey, Texas, from January 17 to February 7, 2017. Nigel Garrett and Cameron Ajiduah subsequently pleaded guilty to hate crime charges from this indictment, and both await sentencing.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Justice Department will not tolerate hate crimes against any individual, for any reason, including sexual orientation,\u201d said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore. \u201cHate crimes are violent crimes and they attack the fundamental principles of the United States. The Justice Department will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute hate crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCrimes of violence are an investigative priority for the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office,\u201d said Acting U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston. \u201cAn assault perpetrated because of one\u2019s race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, or among other prohibited factors, is an attack on American values. We will leave no stone un-turned to prosecute hate crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n Encalade faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine for his guilty plea to the hate crime chargeunder federal statutes, the defendant faces up to life in federal prison at sentencing. The maximum statutory sentence prescribed by Congress is provided here for information purposes, as the sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.<\/p>\n The investigation is being conducted by the ATF, 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\u2019s Office for the Eastern District of Texas and Trial Attorney Saeed Mody of the Civil Rights Division.<\/p>\n NBC DFW reports that Shelton has also<\/a> pleaded guilty.<\/p>\n Watch a report from NBC DFW:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The post Four Men Plead Guilty to Federal Hate Crime Charges for Targeting Gay Men on Grindr, Assaulting Them in Home Invasions<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad<\/a>.<\/p>\n