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Press Release

Marysville Man Sentenced For Racially Motivated Assault On White Man And African-American Woman

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of California
 
 

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Perry Sylvester Jackson, 28, of Marysville, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez to five years and 10 months in prison for violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act for his role in a 2011 racially motivated attack on a white man and an African-American woman, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. Jackson, who previously pleaded guilty on Dec. 17, 2013, was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release following his prison sentence and to pay $175 in restitution. Jackson is the second of three defendants to be sentenced in the case.

According to court documents, on April 18, 2011, around 10:45 p.m., a white man and an African-American woman parked their car at a convenience store in Marysville. Shortly afterward, Jackson, Billy James Hammett, 30, of Marysville, and Anthony Merrell Tyler, 33, of Olivehurst, initiated an unprovoked attack on the man and woman based on race. Jackson punched the male victim twice in the head through the open passenger window. Co-defendant Hammett kicked the woman in the chest, and Tyler smashed the car’s windshield with a crowbar. As the attack continued, the woman managed to take refuge inside the convenience store, and the three assailants then beat the male victim in the parking lot. He sustained abrasions on his right forearm and knees, while the woman suffered bruising to her chest.

On March 25, 2014, Hammett, was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison in connection with the incident. Parole has been abolished in the federal system, and defendants are required by law to serve at least 85 percent of the prison sentence.

Tyler is scheduled for sentencing on July 8, 2014. He faces a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

This case is the product of an investigation by the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by U.S. Attorney Wagner and Trial Attorney Chiraag Bains of the Civil Rights Division.

Updated May 9, 2023

Press Release Number: Docket #: 2:13-cr-011 JAM