2 Blacks Plead No Contest in Rights Case

Two black men who were the first minority defendants to be charged locally with violating the civil rights of whites pleaded no contest Friday to battery.

Richard Maxey, 25, and Donnie Lee Alexander, 19, both of San Diego, entered their pleas to the felony charge, which stems from a series of attacks upon whites that were alleged to have been racially motivated near Belmont Park in Mission Beach on Sept. 23.

San Diego Superior Court Judge William Mudd set sentencing for Jan. 11.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Luis Aragon said the battery charge is normally a misdemeanor, but in this plea the enhancement of civil rights violation was added, which makes it a felony.

Aragon said his office agreed not to ask for a state prison term at sentencing and will agree to local time in custody under terms of probation.

The men could also face a $10,000 fine.

Numerous other defendants locally have been charged with committing hate crimes against victims because of their race or sexual orientation, but this is the first case in which the victims were white and the defendants belonged to a minority.

The victims included a 70-year-old man and a 5-year-old boy. Witnesses told police the attackers yelled racial slurs and made comments about “white trash.”

In a plea-bargain agreement, Mudd dismissed other counts of assault with a deadly weapon, robbery and civil rights violations.

Alexander and Maxey are free on bail posted previously at $10,000 and $5,000 respectively.