The San Francisco District Attorney’s office got a nice break in their prosecution of a 2010 hate crime, as one of the alleged white supremacists accused in the attack of two Mexican men has turned on his alleged partners in crime.
Back on November 10, 2010, two Mexican citizens were attacked by a group of five white assailants who reportedly yelled “white power” and other racial slurs as they beat the men outside an O’Farrell St. bar, lated identified as the Nite Cap. One of the victims suffered serious injuries in the assault.
The group assaulted one victim from behind, knocking him to the ground and punching and kicking him in the face until he blacked out, according to prosecutors. The second victim tried to intervene and was also attacked.
“This is an act of extreme violence,” Gascon said at a March press conference. “It should raise concerns for the entire community.”
Three of the alleged assailants, Robert Allen, 39, Anthony Weston, 33, and Justin Meskan, 29, first appeared in court March 17 to face assault charges with hate crime
enhancements. All three pleaded not guilty, prosecutors said at the time.
Since then, however, the Ex reports that Weston has decided to plead guilty to felony assault with a hate crime allegation, and will testify against Allen and Meskan.
If convicted of all charges, the men each face a maximum of 10 years in state prison. Rather than face jail time, Weston is expected to be sentenced to probation.
Weston’s father and Allen’s attorney claim the incident was merely a drunken bar fight, rather than a matter of racism.
“None of these guys are part of any hate crime, but apparently that’s what the DA wants this to be all about,” the senior Weston told the Ex.
So why the guilty plea, and agreement to testify against his friends? “There was too much risk involved, with that kind of crime in San Francisco. Anthony was looking at 10 to 15 years in jail, or give evidence.”
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