White Man Beat, Was Not About Race.

Cops in Mobile, Ala. made their first arrest in the apparent mob beating of Matthew Owens: Terry Rawls surrendered Wednesday on assault charges.

In less than a week, the brutal attack on Owens -- which left him in critical condition -- went from being described as a hate crime connected to the Trayvon Martin killing in Florida to an ongoing feud between neighbors, WKRG reported.

"This here is an ongoing dispute with neighbors, that's what this is," Mobile Police Corporal Chris Levy told the station.

Levy said that officers have been called to break up fights between Rawls and Owens before, but never filed charges because Owens instigated them.

It was reported that about 20 African American adults beat Owens -- who is white -- into a bloody pulp with brass knuckles, pipes and even paint cans last Saturday. One of the assailants allegedly uttered, "Now that's justice for Trayvon" -- in an apparent reference to the shooting death of the unarmed 17-year-old boy by George Zimmerman in February.

Cops said on Wednesday that they expect to arrest three more suspects involved in the fight, but added that the so-called "mob" consisted mostly of bystanders, WKRG reported.

"What we know is that Mr. Owens was fussing at some kids about playing basketball in the street," said Levy. "These kids then went back and told their parents about the exchange they had with Mr. Owens."

The adults "were having a get together down the street, [and] came down to where Mr. Owens is, and there was a series of racial slurs exchanged, and there was a fight," said Levy.

He ruled out that it was a hate crime and said that the Trayvon Martin shooting wasn't a motivating factor, according to media reports. 

Source http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/27/arrest-in-matthew-owens-beating_n_1459094.html?ref=crime

A Black Man Beating Up A White Man Is A Hate Crime, But Zimmerman's Crime Is Not, WTF.

A suburban Chicago teen has been charged with a hate crime after allegedly attacking a white man because he was upset about the Trayvon Martin Case.

Alton Hayes III, 18, allegedly approached a 19-year-old white male in Oak Park, Ill. and said "empty your pockets, white boy," Oak Park Patch reports. Hayes and an unidentified 15-year-old accomplice thenproceeded to beat the man before running off, police told Patch.

After his arrest, Hayes reportedly told officers he was upset about the Martin case in Florida, and beat up the victim because he was white, CBS Chicago reports.

Martin, 17, was gunned down by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmermanon Feb. 26 near his Florida home. He was unarmed at the time, and his death sparked national outrage.

Hayes isn't the only person who has been charged in attacks allegedly stemming from the Martin case.

On Saturday, a group of African American youths allegedly beat white Mobile, Alabama resident Matthew Owens . Owens was critically injured in the attack, and the youths allegedly said "now that's justice for Trayvon" after the beating. 

Source http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/26/alton-hayes-trayvon-martin_n_1447295.html?ref=mostpopular

Man Beaten In Justice For Trayvon.

Alabama police are trying to track down a mob that beat a man into critical condition -- leaving their battered victim with the words, "Now that's justice for Trayvon."

Cops told WKRG that Matthew Owens got in an argument with some kids playing basketball at a court in the city of Mobile on Saturday night. The kids left and a group of some 20 adults arrived at Owens' front doorstep, armed with chairs, brass knuckles, pipes and paint cans.

The group, all African American, allegedly beat him into a bloody pulp before someone uttered the words that connected the crime to the death of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed teen who was shot and killed in Florida by neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman.

"It was the scariest thing I have ever witnessed," Owens' sister, Ashley Parker, told the station. She said the perps utilized "anything they could get their hands on" as weapons.

Cops searched the area, but couldn't find any suspects.

The February death of Martin has received international attention after Zimmerman killed the 17-year-old boy in what he said was self defense. A failure to immediately charge Zimmerman in the case caused public outcry as well as nationwide debates about gun law and race. Earlier this month, he was charged with second-degree murder.

Source http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/24/justice-for-trayvon-beating_n_1449159.html?ref=crime