Gay flag-burning suspect released on own recognizance
Source: ketv.com
Prosecutors have charged Cameron Mayfield, 23, with third-degree arson after police arrested him for burning a gay pride flag.
"You know, my client is going to apologize for what he did," Mayfield's defense attorney James Martin Davis said.
The charge carries a maximum of five years in prison.
Davis said in court the charge "trivializes what true hate crimes are."
Davis admits his client was drinking since 1:30 a.m. before the incident.
"His uncle's gay, he doesn't have any animosity," Davis said. "He's just some kid that got drunk and it was a prank. Now all of the sudden they're taking this."
Last month, Davis' client, Gregory Duncan, was convicted of a hate crime for a 2013 assault. Davis said Mayfield's actions would have been a $100 fine if the victims were straight.
"There's a political wind that's blowing pretty hard these days in Omaha, and I want to make sure that wind doesn't blow my clients over," Davis said.
The lesbian couple affected disagrees, saying, "The intent really does make the difference. Watching him run toward our house with our burning flag, seeing him stop and wave that burning symbol of a controversial, and inherent part of our being(s) as a minority, in front of our house as a clear message, made it scary. That made it an attack as opposed to a prank."
A judge ordered Mayfield to have no contact with the victims, Ariann Anderson and Jess Meadows-Anderson.
The Douglas County Attorney's Office said Mayfield's charge of arson was aggravated by a hate crime, making his charge a class four felony. He's back in court on March 27.
Source: ketv.com
