Date: 09-17-2015

Case Style: United States of America v. Ramiro Serrata, Jr.

Case Number: 2:15-cr-00691

Judge: Not Available

Court: United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas (Nueces County)

Plaintiff's Attorney: Ruben Perez and Jared Fishman

Defendant's Attorney: Sam Fugate

Description: Corpus Christi, TX - Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Hate Crime Against Gay African American Man

A Texas man has pleaded guilty to hate crime offenses for his role in a Mar. 8, 2012, assault of a gay African American man in Corpus Christi, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson and Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.

Ramiro Serrata Jr., 22, pleaded guilty in federal court in Corpus Christi to one count of conspiracy to commit hate crimes and one count of a hate crime violation based on sexual orientation.

During the plea hearing, Serrata admitted that he and others conspired to assault a gay African American man because of his race, color and sexual orientation. Serrata admitted that during the assault, he and his co-conspirators punched and kicked the man and assaulted him with various dangerous weapons, including a frying pan, a mug, a sock filled with batteries, a broom and a belt.

Serrata admitted that when the victim began to bleed, the conspirators forced him to remove all of his clothing and clean up the blood throughout the apartment. After the victim was completely naked, one of the conspirators pointed a gun at the victim, while Serrata sodomized him with a broom. During the assault, the conspirators poured bleach onto the man’s face and eyes, pistol-whipped him with a handgun and whipped him with a belt.

Serrata acknowledged that throughout the assault, the conspirators repeatedly called the victim racial and homophobic slurs and made other anti-black and anti-gay statements. The conspirators also prevented the man from leaving the apartment by physical force and threats of force. The victim eventually escaped the apartment by jumping out of a window.

Serrata will be sentenced on Dec. 9, 2015, and faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Serrata is incarcerated pending sentencing.

Jimmy Garza Jr. is also charged with related hate crimes in connection to this offense. His trial is scheduled for Sept. 29, 2015. He has pleaded not guilty, and is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Corpus Christi Resident Agency with assistance from the Corpus Christi Police Department

Outcome: See above

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