January 8, 2009
- Lewiston, Idaho
Leas guilty of hate crime
Steven Leas listens in 2nd District Court Wednesday after a jury found him guilty of malicious harassment. By Matt Loveless
LEWISTON - It took 14 months, and two trials, and on Wednesday a jury found Steven Leas of Lewiston guilty of a hate crime.
The 25-year-old Leas will now face sentencing on a malicious harassment conviction. Leas was involved in an altercation with Herman Gary at the Zip Trip on Southway Avenue in August of 2007. The jury decided that Leas shoved and yelled racial slurs at Gary because Gary is black. The verdict was met with what appeared to be disbelief on the part of Leas and his family, who maintained Leas' innocence after a mistrial in June. The defense claimed that Leas' crime was simply a matter of a battery committed because he was drunk. Leas will be back in court for sentencing on January 8. He faces up to five years in prison and a $50,000 fine. |
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