PITTSBURGH — A man who was sentenced to prison for taunting another man with racial slurs before attacking him in downtown Pittsburgh in May 2015 has been charged in federal court with a hate crime, U.S. Attorney David J. Hickton announced Monday.
Ryan Kyle, 22, and four other men are accused of taunting then-53-year-old Kevin Lockett before he was attacked at the Wood Street station after a concert at Heinz Field. The assault was captured on Port Authority surveillance video.
Kyle was sentenced in April to three to six years in prison after pleading no contest to charges of ethnic intimidation, aggravated assault and conspiracy to commit robbery.
The newly filed federal hate crime charge against Kyle is a first in western Pennsylvania since the enactment of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009, according to a news release.
“According to the Information filed with the court, on or about May 30, 2015, in the Western District of Pennsylvania, Ryan Kyle did willfully cause bodily injury to K.L. because of the actual and perceived race and color of K.L.,” the release said.
The FBI conducted the investigation leading to the filing of the federal hate crime charge. Kyle faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both.
Kyle’s attorney said a plea agreement is in place that would allow Kyle to serve three years concurrently with his current three to six years sentence, meaning no time would be added on. The judge could still also impose a fine of up to $250,000.
Lockett spoke to Channel 11 News after learning about the new charge, saying it’s not enough.
“How do you not charge them all with the same thing? Why aren't they all getting the same penalty?” he said.
A total of five men were arrested for the May 2015 assault, but only Lockett received jail time. The other four - David Depretis Kenneth Gault, Matthew Laplace and Christopher LaPlace - all took plea deals.
“I'm not judge and jury and I’m not going to speak on whether I would want to be executioner but just justice,” Lockett said.
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