Man Convicted of Misdemeanors in Hate Case

A Glendale man was convicted in a federal hate crime case Friday of trying to drive an interracial family out of his predominantly white neighborhood.

Steven Alexander, a school dropout and convicted burglar, was found guilty of two misdemeanor counts of interfering with his victims’ rights under the federal Fair Housing Act.

But the jury deadlocked on felony civil rights conspiracy charges against Alexander, 20, and his brother, Philip, 22.

The panel also acquitted Philip Alexander of one misdemeanor count and deadlocked on a second one, both involving violations of the Fair Housing Act.

Steven Alexander, who remains in custody, faces up to two years in prison. He and his brother could have received 10-year prison terms had they been convicted of the felony charges.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Michael Gennaco, who heads the new civil rights section of the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles, said a decision will be made in the next week on whether to retry the brothers on the felony counts.

Defense lawyer Edward M. Robinson said, “We’re disappointed by the verdicts, but we’re happy he didn’t get the felony.” He described Steven Alexander, as a “bigmouth but definitely not a racist.”

The case revolved around two confrontations between the Alexander brothers and Susan Shumate’s biracial family in the spring of 1998. Shumate is white, while her sons, Andre, 21, and Demoad, 18, and her boyfriend, Mark Slider, are African American.

Prosecutors said the Alexanders stopped Shumate and her sons May 5, 1998, as they were walking home from Crescenta Valley Park. The Alexander brothers allegedly shouted racial slurs and white power slogans and told the family they did not belong in the neighborhood.

The defense denied the incident was racially motivated and said Demoad Shumate helped instigate it by throwing his arms into the air as a sign of challenge as the Alexanders drove by.

On the witness stand, Susan Shumate said both Alexander brothers used racial slurs, but her son Andre said that only Steven Alexander did so.

Shumate testified that the Alexanders finally drove off, but not before Steven Alexander threatened to kill Demoad if his mother called the police.

The second confrontation happened about a month later when Shumate and Slider spotted Philip Alexander as they were driving a few blocks from their home. Slider testified that he stopped his car and confronted Philip, who was not threatening them.

But Slider said the atmosphere changed dramatically a few minutes later when Steven Alexander and a few of his friends showed up. Fearing for his safety, Slider said he retreated to his car and started the engine, but Steven Alexander stood in front of the car, daring Slider to hit him.

As Slider put the engine in gear, Steven Alexander allegedly leapt on the car’s hood and smashed the windshield. Meantime, Philip reached through the open driver’s window and ripped Slider’s jacket.

Philip said he acted only to prevent his “stupid little brother” from getting hurt. As it turned out, Steven suffered a broken arm.

Prosecutors said the brothers then conspired to get Slider arrested by making a bogus hit-and-run complaint against him with the Glendale Police Department. Several of their friends testified at the trial that Philip threatened them if they did not go along with the fabricated account.

After sorting out the conflicting stories, Glendale police arrested the Alexander brothers.