FBI Top Stories: South Carolina Man Pleads Guilty to Committing Federal Hate Crime Against African-American Teenager

WASHINGTON—Chase McClary, 23, of Johnsonville, South Carolina, pleaded guilty today in federal court in the District of South Carolina to violating the Matthew Shepard-James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in his violent assault of an African-American teenager.

During his guilty plea, McClary admitted that in August 2010, he approached a 16-year-old African-American male and struck him numerous times with the jagged end of a broken coffee mug because of the victim’s race. The attack resulted in severe injuries to the victim’s head, face, and neck.

Sentencing will be set at a later date. The plea agreement calls for a sentence of 48 months in prison.

“Motivated by hate, the defendant attacked a teenager and scarred him for life. No one should have to endure such an abhorrent act of criminal violence,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney for the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will vigorously prosecute cases of bias motivated violence to the full extent of the law.”

“Prosecution of hate-based crime—whether the motive is the color of skin, sexual orientation, religion, gender, or national origin—is critical to the American way of life and the justice system,” said U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles for the District of South Carolina. I want to thank the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Florence County Sheriff’s Office and Ed Clements, the Thirteenth Circuit Solicitor, for their work on this civil rights case.”

This case was investigated by Special Agent Steven Stokes of the FBI, with assistance from the Florence County Sheriff’s Investigator Alvin Powell, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad Parham and Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Christopher Lomax.

South Carolina Man Pleads Guilty to Committing Federal Hate Crime Against African-American Teenager

WASHINGTON—Chase McClary, 23, of Johnsonville, South Carolina, pleaded guilty today in federal court in the District of South Carolina to violating the Matthew Shepard-James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in his violent assault of an African-American teenager.

During his guilty plea, McClary admitted that in August 2010, he approached a 16-year-old African-American male and struck him numerous times with the jagged end of a broken coffee mug because of the victim’s race. The attack resulted in severe injuries to the victim’s head, face, and neck.

Sentencing will be set at a later date. The plea agreement calls for a sentence of 48 months in prison.

“Motivated by hate, the defendant attacked a teenager and scarred him for life. No one should have to endure such an abhorrent act of criminal violence,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney for the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will vigorously prosecute cases of bias motivated violence to the full extent of the law.”

“Prosecution of hate-based crime—whether the motive is the color of skin, sexual orientation, religion, gender, or national origin—is critical to the American way of life and the justice system,” said U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles for the District of South Carolina. I want to thank the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Florence County Sheriff’s Office and Ed Clements, the Thirteenth Circuit Solicitor, for their work on this civil rights case.”

This case was investigated by Special Agent Steven Stokes of the FBI, with assistance from the Florence County Sheriff’s Investigator Alvin Powell, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad Parham and Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Christopher Lomax.

Accused Philadelphia Rapist Arrested by U.S. Marshals, Partnered Agencies

Florence, SC – Tyrone Haynes, 54, was arrested by U.S. Marshals and the Florence County Sheriff’s Office, after almost a year on the run. Haynes is charged by the Commonwealth of Philadelphia with 10 different allegations, which include rape, burglary, sexual assault, and false imprisonment. The charges arise from a January 2010 incident where Haynes allegedly broke into an apartment off of

Jackson Street

in Philadelphia, then beat and raped the occupant, leaving her in critical condition for several days.

After months of constant and diligent investigation by Philadelphia authorities and the U.S. Marshals in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, they determined Haynes may be frequenting the homeless shelters in the Pamplico area of SC. Upon receipt of this information, Operation Intercept, the U.S. Marshal led fugitive task force in South Carolina, set out to find Haynes, interviewing individuals and surveilling areas Haynes was seen. Ultimately, investigators were able to determine that Haynes was living at a house in the 1800 block of the

North Pamplico Highway

in Pamplico. Haynes was arrested without incident and transported to the Florence County Jail where he will await extradition back to Philadelphia.

Kelvin Washington, the U.S. Marshal for South Carolina, stated “Mr. Haynes thought that by fleeing to South Carolina, he could outrun his past. Mr. Haynes did not anticipate that the U.S. Marshals would soon be tracking him down, wherever he may be. Hopefully, this arrest can bring some closure to the victims in the case and the healing can begin.”

Established in 1789, the United States Marshals Service is the nation’s oldest federal law enforcement agency. In fiscal 2009, the Marshals arrested more than 36,400 federal fugitives, clearing 39,400 felony warrants.  Marshal’s Service-led task forces like South Carolina’s Operation Intercept arrested 90,800 state and local fugitives, clearing 117,000 felony warrants. Locally, Operation Intercept arrested over 2,500 South Carolina fugitives during that same period. More information about the Marshals and other South Carolina fugitives can be found on the web at www.usmarshals.gov.