Skinhead Gets 40-Year Term for Slaying of Black Man

A teen-age skinhead who received probation earlier this year for the murder of a black man was convicted on a related charge Thursday and sentenced to 40 years in prison.

Christopher Brosky, 19, was convicted of engaging in organized crime in the June, 1991, drive-by shooting of Donald Thomas, a warehouse worker from Arlington.

The charge carried a maximum sentence of life in prison. Jurors, after deliberating the sentence for about an hour, chose the 40-year term and also fined Brosky $5,000. They declined to comment after the trial.

Brosky also faced a lesser charge of conspiracy to commit murder, but prosecutors said the jury could only rule on one charge.

Brosky showed no emotion when the sentence was read and wouldn’t comment later. Thomas’ widow, Carolyn Thomas, emotionally thanked the jurors after the sentencing.

“This is really hard for me because we’re going through this a second time,” she said, her voice wavering. “I’m very pleased.”

In March, an all-white jury convicted Brosky of murder for his role as an accomplice and decided to give him a five-year prison term in addition to 10 years’ probation. But the judge was forced to drop the prison term because that combination is against the law in Texas.

The probation sentence sparked protests, including a march through downtown Ft. Worth that drew 10,000 people and led authorities to launch the second prosecution. The trial was moved out of Ft. Worth because of the extensive publicity.

An appeals court ruled earlier that double jeopardy was not an issue because the charges were different.