Apology lets man escape hate crime charges

A Pinellas man won't face prison after he says "I'm sorry'' to a man he attacked and yelled racial slurs at on a golf course.

By JAMIE MALERNEE

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 27, 2000

BROOKSVILLE -- An apology was enough to end Hernando County's first hate crime trial before it began Wednesday.

After saying he was sorry for yelling at and attacking several black golfers at a Hernando County golf course in February, Pinellas County resident Huston Hill, who is white, will not face jail time for two counts of battery with prejudice. Instead, Hill will be put on probation for at least a year and will have to undergo diversity training as part of a pretrial intervention agreement.

Hill apologized Tuesday to Spring Hill resident Gordon Fleming, who told prosecutors that he did not want to send his attacker to prison, only to ensure that he learned his actions were wrong.

Fleming did not return phone calls Wednesday. At the time of Hill's arrest in February, Fleming said he was unsure if he thought the incident should be prosecuted as a hate crime.

Prosecutors decided to pursue hate crime charges because they thought the crime appeared racially motivated. If Hill had been convicted on that felony charge, he could have faced up to five years in prison.

According to reports, Hill, 42, of 37 180th Ave. in Redington Shores, screamed racial slurs at Fleming and three of Fleming's out-of-state friends at The Dunes at Seville in February after the group confronted him about purposefully playing slowly in front of their group to annoy them. Hill also tried to hit Fleming with his golf cart and, in the process, missed and ran over the foot of Fleming's 72-year-old uncle, officials said.

Before the confrontation, a golf course employee said, Hill and a friend asked her why the management let n------ play on the course.

Assistant State Attorney Bill Catto said Fleming was very generous in his agreement to allow Hill, who owns Florida Securities in St. Petersburg, to be put on probation.

"I feel like we could have won the case . . . but (Mr. Fleming) said he didn't want to see the guy lose his job and go to jail," Catto said. "(Mr. Fleming) is a lot bigger of a man than people we usually deal with."

In contrast to Catto's praise for Fleming, the prosecutor said he was not impressed by Hill's apology.

"He made a half-hearted apology. He didn't really want to do it," Catto said. "His lawyer had to counsel him on it."

Hill also did not return phone calls Wednesday. He originally told police that Fleming's group attacked him first and that, in trying to get away, he accidentally ran over a man's foot. He also accused Fleming of punching him in the jaw. Fleming admitted he punched Hill, saying it was in response to Hill's insults. Fleming later said he regretted striking Hill.

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