ive heard spring has gotten bad. and that family sounds pathetic. glad i didnt grow up in an enviroment like that. sickos
This is very reminiscent of the murder of James Byrd in Jasper in 1998 I think. It is really sad for Texans that two of the most violent hate crimes in the past decade in the US were committed here. Makes me embarassed to say I'm from this state. This is really appalling, but let's try to keep the eye for an eye comments down a little. I know revenge is a pretty base human instinct, but we don't have to post it all over the thread again and again. We all know that any normal person is sickened by this story.
I haven't heard anyone defending these guys that did this and I don't think there is anyone that wants anything but the harshest of penalties for these adults (I say adults because they need to be tried as adults) so I'd say the outcome is the same regardless of the race of who did this. The law should allow the harshest of penalties regardless of why they did this. As it is now and if I understand correctly, the prosecutor would have to prove that they did it because of race to give them the death penalty. They should have this option regardless of why they did this terrible act.
It's situations like this that made me glad I went to school in Alief with people of all different backgrounds and never really had to deal with the overt racism of some people. I'm not saying that people from different areas can't grow up to be non-racists, just that when you grow up around people from everywhere, you really have no choice but to try to get along with them or it just makes life hard on you. Houston's generally a city that has a good rep for diversity. You really don't realize it until you go to other places in the country. This is just disgusting... .
I don't think racism is that bad here, at least from the Asian perspective. I grew up in Spring/Tomball. Yeah, I had problems from junior high through high school, but nothing serious. I know a couple of Chinese families in Windrose. They've never mentioned any problems to me. Neither have my parents, who have lived in Spring for about 25 years.
HAHAHA i cant put my finger on it, but something tells me that a certain white boy (or two) will be sodomized in jail many times by Pablo and Carlos (and Roberto, and Hector, and Pedro, and Jose, etc etc.)
This kind of crap makes me ashamed to be a Houstonian. Hate crime or no hate crime, these two clowns need to do serious time for this and pay retribution to their victim's family. These two kids' parents should be held responsible as well, because IMHO this crime is the result of crappy parenting as well.
This is sick. Full Details: April 28, 2006, 2:19AM Details of brutal pipe assault emerge Teenager clings to life as case laced with ethnic undertones grabs national notice By MIKE GLENN and PEGGY O'HARE Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle The brutalized teen was a popular student and high school football player in Spring once featured in a fashion layout in the school's yearbook. Two older teens accused of attacking him were described by other youths as troublemakers and "skinheads." In a case that's garnering national attention, a 16-year-old clings to life at Memorial Hermann Hospital while the other two are in the Harris County Jail — charged with aggravated sexual assault after prosecutors accused them of sodomizing him with a pipe because they think he tried to kiss a 12-year-old girl. "How do you muster up that much hatred?" asked Carolyn Cook, the mother of one of the victim's friends. The brutal night began about 11:30 p.m. Saturday when the 16-year-old went to a party at a home in the 21300 block of Glenbranch. Investigators don't know how many people were there but said the group included David Henry Tuck, 18, of the 3400 block of Nutwood, and Keith Robert Turner, 17, of the 21000 block of Star Grass. Incensed at the teen because of the girl, Tuck and Turner dragged him in the back yard and began beating him, detectives said. "They stomped his head with their boots," said Harris County Sheriff's Lt. John Denholm. "They stripped him naked and sodomized him with the PVC pipe used to hold up a patio umbrella." Tuck then kicked the pipe, causing even further damage, prosecutors said at a Thursday morning hearing. "I don't mean just a little bit," Harris County prosecutor Mike Trent told District Judge Michael McSpadden. "He kicked it in and shoved it so far in that he has caused major internal injuries and organ damage." Tuck wore steel-toed boots when he attacked the teen and kicked him in the head, Trent said. The attackers slashed his chest with a knife and hurled ethnic slurs at the teen, who is Hispanic. Then they apparently tried to cover up the crime, authorities said. "They poured bleach on his body to destroy any evidence," Denholm said. He was left for dead in the yard for 10 hours before help was called. Steven Bullock saw his friend Thursday at Memorial Hermann Hospital. The teen was unconscious, his chest marked from the knife attack. "I was standing next to his bed. He didn't look good," Bullock said. "It was worse than I expected." He remains in extremely critical condition, prosecutors said, and may not survive. The attack stunned students at Klein Collins High School, which the younger teen once attended before transferring. "Everyone is praying and hoping that he gets better. He's a good friend," said David Cook, a former football teammate. "Nobody is going to be the same after this. It's all going to be different." A Web profile of the teen on MySpace shows pictures of the smiling student with his friends. It lists his interests — not unlike those of others his age — such as Houston Rockets star Tracy McGrady and favorite musicians. Outraged friends left messages, including one that read: "God is watching over you and he knows as well as i that you are too strong to let this overcome you. I hope to see you real soon." Cook called his friend "a cool kid" who liked nothing better than cracking jokes with his buddies: "I don't see how that could happen to somebody I knew. He's a good friend of mine." Cook said he has known Turner for several years and doesn't understand how he could have been involved in such an act. "He was always one of my best friends. I never thought he could do something like this," Cook said. Turner's alleged involvement in the attack also baffled Cook's mother. "David Tuck is more well-known for having a rougher reputation," Carolyn Cook said. "(Turner) has a reputation of being more of a follower." Bullock said he has heard Tuck use slurs. The victim probably would not have gone to the party had he known the two also would be there, David Cook said. "Everybody has heard about David (Tuck)," David Cook said. "Everybody knows him as a skinhead around here." Cook said he has seen Nazi swastikas painted on the fence at Tuck's house. "It sounds like something you would see in a movie, but it's all real," he said. Several people who live in Tuck's subdivision portrayed Tuck as a boy who had been violent and troubled since he was young and had long exhibited a fascination with neo-Nazis. Jason Savage, 17, and Tommy Peterson, both Klein Collins sophomores, said Tuck paraded around the subdivision with a flag of a swastika on Martin Luther King Day. Richard Rogers, who lives next door to the family, answered his door Thursday night with a .357-caliber Magnum in his hand. He said he was carrying it because he was concerned that Tuck would be out on bail. "The kid is a white supremacist," Rogers said. More details about the attack surfaced Thursday as Tuck appeared in court to answer the aggravated sexual assault charge. Although his bail had been set at $20,000, McSpadden ordered him held without bail. Turner, also charged with aggravated sexual assault, is jailed in lieu of $100,000 bail. Prosecutors revealed that a third person, a juvenile, may have participated in the assault. That boy is being treated only as a witness and will not be charged, prosecutors said. Prosecutors will not pursue the incident as a hate crime — because that would not enhance the first-degree felony charges or penalty possibilities — but said evidence of an ethnic motivation will be presented to jurors to consider if and when they weigh punishment, Trent said. Tuck and Turner are white. The suspects admitted involvement in the attack, but "they're pointing fingers at each other as to who did what," Trent told the judge. Defense attorney Chuck Hinton, appointed to represent Tuck, declined to comment. Trent said the charges will be upgraded to capital murder if the victim dies. Family members of the teen, Tuck and Turner could not be reached for comment. Bill Murphy, Zeke Minaya and Kimberly Stauffer contributed to this report
There's need NONE to describe the beating... shame on the CHRON . com for even posting that crappola. That's going to hurt the case, but I still don't think the perpetrators (Tuck & Turner) will get away with nothing. Of course, temporary insanity caused by drugs will allow them to get away clean.
So, when these guys go to prison, will they join up with their fellow neo-nazis for protection? I hope they don't have that option and are fair game.
I think the rule is to stay East of I45....I think you're okay. It's considered the Klein/Champions area like someone stated but with the Spring address.
reading the article, like someone else said, who sat there and watched this happening? I can't even continue reading the article.
I grew up in Spring and got back there as fast as I could. I loved/love it. I live in Champions, which is Spring, and it sucks seeing my hometown's name being thrown about with racism.
Yeah, there are some racists living in Spring just like any other community. Spring does not equal Vidor.
