Two charged in federal court with 2021 racial hate crime in Citrus Springs, FL
Accordng to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice, 52 year-old Robert Dewayne Lashley (see photo on left), who listed his residence as Brandon, Florida on Nov. 17, 2021, pleaded guilty on Oct. 4, 2022 to a federal hate crime "for attacking a Black man because of his actual and perceived race."
According to the plea agreement, on Nov. 17, 2021, Lashley traveled to the Family Dollar store in Citrus Springs (Citrus County), Florida, where the victim, a Black man, was shopping inside the store. Lashley followed the victim from the store, outside into the parking lot, and then attacked him, striking him multiple times. Lashley and his co-defendant, Roy Lamar Lashley, Jr. (see photo on right) - then 55 years-old and a resident of Dunnellon, Florida - directed racial slurs toward the victim before, during and after the attack. The victim sustained injuries to his face and legs and also a laceration to the inside of his mouth.
“The defendant is being held accountable for subjecting a Black man to a brutal and racially-motivated assault,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Convictions like these make clear that the Department of Justice will continue to investigate and prosecute individuals who violently assault others because of their race. Racially-motivated hate crimes have no place in our society.”
“Acts of violence against anyone because of their race or ethnicity are abhorrent,” said U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure that such crimes are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
"Hate crimes are not only an attack on the victim, these crimes threaten and intimidate entire communities,” said Special Agent in Charge Sherri E. Onks for the FBI Jacksonville Field Division. “Because of their wide-ranging impact, investigating and preventing hate crimes is a top priority for the FBI, and we will stop at nothing to protect the public from these heinous crimes.”
A sentencing hearing has not yet been set. Lashley faces a maximum term of 10 years imprisonment, three years of mandatory supervised release and a $250,000 fine. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Lashley was charged in an indictment that was unsealed on June 17, 2022. The indictment charged Lashley and co-defendant Roy Lamar Lashley, each aiding and abetting one another, with willfully causing bodily injury to the victim because of the victim’s actual and perceived race. The case against the co-defendant Roy Lashley remains ongoing.
Assistant Attorney General Clarke, U.S. Attorney Handberg and Special Agent in Charge Onks made the announcement.
The FBI and the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office investigated the matter. Trial Attorneys Maura White and Matthew Tannenbaum of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney William Hamilton of the Middle District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
Robert Dewayne Lashley and Roy Lamar Lashley, Jr. were both arrested by the Citrus County Sheriff's Office on Nov. 17, 2021 on the charges listed below:
Robert Dewayne Lashley (then 51) was charged with battery ($1,000 bond).
Roy Lamar Lashley, Jr. (then 55) was charged with resisting an officer with violence, battery of a person employed to provide a public service, and aggravated battery using a deadly weapon ($20,000 bond). He was also charged with resisting an officer without violence (unstated bond).