Charges dropped against 4th defendant in 2019 assault on gay couple in downtown Austin – Austin American-Statesman
Prosecutors on Tuesday dismissed charges against Miguel Macias, the fourth defendant in a case involving a downtown Austin assault on a gay couple that investigators initially labeled a hate crime.
The assault against Spencer Deehring and Tristan Perry inspired a nighttime rally at the Capitol and the creation of a citizen foot patrol, but Macias’ attorney said the case was “motivated by misinformation.”
Three other men charged in the crime pleaded guilty last week to two counts of misdemeanor assault with a hate crime finding, even though the Austin police detective who investigated the fight reported about a year into the investigation that he did not believe the assault was a hate crime.
Macias’ case was dismissed because of a lack of sufficient evidence to charge him, officials with the Travis County district attorney’s office said.
“I have been, and will continue to be, outspoken that this case was overcharged and motivated by misinformation,” defense attorney Brian Erskine said. “Law enforcement enraged our community with a ruse of bigotry.”
Erskine added: “And, while it is morally easy and legally just for them to ‘protect’ our LGBTQ community, it is much more difficult to confront the fact that Perry and Deehring also used racial slurs to instigate and aggravate the situation into a mutual fight that didn’t end in their favor.”
This week:3 take plea deals in 2019 assault on gay couple that galvanized Austin LGBTQ community
Months into the investigation, Austin police Detective Robert Field spoke with a prosecutor and said he believed the fight started when one of the men in the group of four bumped shoulders with one of the gay men while they were passing on the street.
Field also told prosecutors that one of the four men, Frank Macias, mentioned in an interview with investigators that one of the gay men had made a racial comment to Macias’ group.
Prosecutors maintained that the incident was a hate crime.
“The district attorney’s office takes these cases very seriously,” Assistant District Attorney Beth Payan said in a statement. “We worked very hard to evaluate this case and proceed appropriately based on the facts and evidence after consulting with the victims. It was very important to us that we secure the hate crime finding so that justice could finally be served. Hate crimes will not be tolerated here in Travis County, and they will be prosecuted accordingly.”
Deehring did not return a call seeking comment, and Perry could not be reached for a response. However, the couple shared a statement via the DA’s office.
“We will not stop until the hate crime laws in Texas are enhanced to allow thorough prosecution of those committing such heinous crimes,” their statement says. “Our community has to live in constant fear of narrow-minded violent individuals that are threatened by our very existence. No person should be subjected to violence because of who they love or what they look like. Love will always conquer hate.”
The four suspects were initially charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a first-degree felony. The hate crime designation would have allowed the crime’s maximum penalty to be life in prison.
Prosecutors “bent the deadly weapon statute to suggest hands are deadly, which is the only reason these cases remained a felony and not a misdemeanor,” Erskine said.
Erskine said he doesn’t blame the other men for their pleas deals.
“I know the risk of life imprisonment is far too great,” Erskine said. “For Miguel, dismissal was the only appropriate resolution because the evidence showed he was not hateful and was not violent.”