WASHINGTON — Two Florida men were indicted by an Ocala-based federal grand jury after prosecutors said the duo violently attacked a Black man while yelling racist slurs.
The federal indictment was unsealed Friday, charging 55-year-old Roy Lashley and 52-year-old Robert Lashley with a hate crime, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.
The DOJ alleges the men attacked the man due to his race.
"According to the indictment, the defendants repeatedly called the victim racial slurs and repeatedly struck the victim with closed fists and an axe handle," the DOJ wrote in an email.
According to arrest affidavits, the attack happened in November 2021 outside a Dollar General in Citrus Springs. Investigators say the 24-year-old victim was found lying in a median along Deltona Boulevard, between the Dollar General and the Family Dollar.
Investigators say the 24-year-old told them he was walking away from the Dollar General and toward the Family Dollar when he heard Robert calling him racist slurs from a parking lot. According to an affidavit, the victim said Robert then ran across Deltona Boulevard, began punching him in the face, and got him on the ground where Robert kept hitting him. Roy ran over and struck the victim repeatedly with an axe handle, an affidavit said.
The affidavit says Roy, at one point, was heard telling Robert "come on we have to go before the cops get here."
When law enforcement arrived, authorities say Roy kicked a deputy while being arrested.
At the time, Roy was booked locally for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting a law enforcement officer. Robert was initially charged with battery.
Now, they both face a federal charge too.
If convicted of the federal hate crimes, prosecutors said the men could face a maximum of 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and potentially be ordered to pay a $250,000 fine.
The attack was investigated by the Citrus County Sheriff's Office and the FBI.
Roy is from Dunnellon, and Robert is from Brandon, Florida.