Man Sentenced to Jail in Racial Attack
A Tujunga man who pleaded no contest to a hate crime for attacking a 14-year-old Asian boy and using racial slurs against African Americans was sentenced to six months in county jail, prosecutors said Wednesday.
James Dennis Burdick, 22, was sentenced Tuesday by San Fernando Municipal Judge John Gunn on one count of committing a hate crime and was ordered to pay medical costs for the teenager.
Burdick was charged Dec. 6 after he and two youths shouted racial epithets at a group of boys playing basketball at Verdugo Hills High School, said Deputy City Atty. David Knokey.
During the incident, prosecutors said, Burdick tripped, and kicked the Asian boy in the head and back. A baseball coach conducting practice on an adjacent field yelled at the assailants, who ran off.
The case involving the two juveniles is being handled by the Los Angeles County district attorney, Knokey said.
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