TAMPA, Fla. — A Florida man convicted of a federal hate crime last year was sentenced on Monday to two years in federal prison, prosecutors said.
Jordan Patrick Leahy, 29, also received three years of supervised release for a racially motivated attack against a Black man who was traveling down a public road in Pinellas County, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice. The victim was attacked while driving home from Seminole with family members, prosecutors said.
Leahy was convicted of willfully intimidating and interfering with the victim and attempting to injure, intimidate and interfere with the man through the use of a dangerous weapon, according to prosecutors.
Florida Man Sentenced for Racially-Motivated Hate Crime: Jordan Patrick Leahy of Florida was sentenced to 24 months in prison for his racially-motivated attack against a Black man who was traveling down a public roadway. https://t.co/8e77QmsvR8
— FBI Tampa (@FBITampa) November 8, 2022
According to court documents, Leahy, who is white, followed the Black man and his family for about a mile on Aug. 8, 2021, the Tampa Bay Times reported. The man, his girlfriend and 4-year-old daughter were driving home when Leahy, who was allegedly drunk, shouted racist slurs.
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said that Leahy sideswiped the victim’s vehicle and began using a Nazi salute and making gestures of pretending to shoot the man, WTSP-TV reported.
The victim, who had a background in martial arts, was able to get Leahy into a submission hold until authorities arrived at the scene, according to the Times.
According to Leahy’s arrest affidavit, he allegedly told deputies that he had “wanted to fight a random colored person,” the newspaper reported.
Leahy also faced state criminal charges. He pleaded to state charges of felony battery and driving under the influence on Dec. 28, 2021, according to the Times. He was sentenced to probation on the state charges but served six months in jail after he violated his probation.
A federal grand jury indicted Leahy on federal hate crime charges in April, according to the newspaper. A jury found convicted him of one count in August.
“Today’s sentence sends a clear message that racially-motivated criminal behavior is especially repugnant and unacceptable,” U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg, of the Middle District of Florida, said in a statement. “We will continue to work with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners to enforce our nation’s civil rights laws.”
Federal prosecutors sought a sentence of four years and nine months in prison, according to the Times. Leahy’s defense attorney, Sam Landes, sought a prison sentence of four to 10 months.
“We will not allow hate-motivated crimes to infiltrate our communities and threaten our citizens,” David Walker, special agent in charge for the FBI’s Tampa Field Division, said in a statement. “Investigating civil rights violations is among the FBI’s highest priorities and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to protect communities from hateful acts of bias.”
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