Three Suspects Face Hate Crime Charges In Abhorrent Attack On Openly Gay 26-Year-Old Burke Burnett; If Convicted All Three Would Face Life Sentences

Three suspects will face hate crime charges in the brutal beating of a gay man who was stabbed repeatedly with a broken beer bottle and thrown onto a fire in Reno, Texas. The Dallas Voice reports that the victim, 26-year-old Burke Burnett, said he was notified by the Lamar County District Attorney’s Office on Thursday, November 10 that his attackers will face hate crime enhancements in the case. The Paris News reported on its website Thursday that a Lamar County grand jury indicted the suspects on three counts each of aggravated assault with hate crime enhancements. Two of the three suspects will also face enhancements as repeat offenders. Aggravated assault is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison, but the hate crime enhancements would bump up the charges, making them first-degree felonies punishable by up to life in prison. Lamar County District Attorney Gary Young could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday afternoon. “I’m super-happy about today’s news,” Burnett told The Dallas Voice. “That makes me feel really good. It was a quick indictment. I’m just pleased with how Gary Young, the DA, is handling it.” Burnett suffered second-degree burns and needed more than 30 stitches following the attack at a private party in Reno, a small town just east of Paris, in the early morning hours of October 30. He said his three attackers yelled anti-gay slurs as they sucker-punched him, stabbed him in the back and arm with a broken beer bottle, and threw him onto a lit burn barrel. The case made national news after graphic photos of Burnett’s injuries were posted on Dallas Voice’s website. The three suspects — 31-year-old James Mitchell Lasater III of Paris, 25-year-old Micky Joe Smith of Brookston, and 33-year-old Daniel Shawn Martin of Paris — were arrested days after the attack by the Reno Police Department. According to the Paris News, each is now charged with one count of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Lasater and Smith were indicted as repeat offenders. Burnett said he had the last of his stitches removed Thursday and there are no signs of permanent damage. He said the burns are “still ugly but they’re definitely healing up” and his black eye is barely noticeable anymore. Chuck Smith, deputy director of Equality Texas, said Thursday he was pleased to learn of the indictments. “I certainly think this was a bias motivated crime,” Smith said. “This is what our hate crimes act is for. It’s good from the standpoint that it could result in enhanced penalties. It’s equally if not more important that it sends a message that Lamar County is not going to tolerate bias crimes.”