A man who repeatedly stomped on and kicked the head of an African American man in a racially targeted attack was sentenced today to 10 years in federal prison.
Randy Metcalf, 40, from Dubuque, Iowa, received the maximum allowable prison term after a March 30, 2016, jury verdict finding him guilty of committing a federal hate crime.
The evidence at trial showed that on Jan. 12, 2015, Metcalf, while in a bar in Dubuque, had been using racial slurs in reference to an African American man who was also in the bar. Metcalf also displayed a swastika tattoo to other people while bragging about having burned crosses. Later in the night, Metcalf assaulted the African American man by repeatedly stomping on and kicking his head as the victim lay barley conscious on the floor of the bar. Metcalf assaulted the victim and was then pushed away from him by another person in the bar, but then returned to kick and stomp the victim in the head again.
Metcalf was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. He was sentenced to 120 months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $100 was imposed and he was ordered to make $1874.56 in restitution to the victim. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
United States Attorney Kevin W. Techau stated after sentencing, “The Department of Justice is committed to protecting the rights and freedoms of all people. Hate crimes represent an attack not just on the individual victim but also on the entire community. The federal hate crime of which Randy Metcalf was found guilty is as reprehensible as it was violent. We will continue to use every tool at our disposal to vindicate the rights of victims of violent hate crimes. “This vicious attack threatened the most basic standards of human decency and dignity," said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “While no sentence, including this one, can undo the harm inflicted, it does send an unequivocal message that the Justice Department will vigorously prosecute hate crimes."
The case was investigated by the Dubuque Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was jointly prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt and Trial Attorney Christopher Perras of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 15-CR-1032.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
