Gang Associates Plead Guilty to Racially Charged Assault

Two men connected with a Compton street gang pleaded guilty Thursday to federal hate crime charges stemming from a racially motivated attack on two black juveniles on New Year’s Eve.

Jeffrey Aguilar, also known as Terco, 20, and 22-year-old Efren Marquez, Jr., also known as Stretch, and Junior, plead guilty to violating the Matthew Shepard-James Byrd Hate Crime Prevention Act, according to a news release issued by the FBI.

According to authorities, Aguilar admitted that on December 31, 2012, he and another individual physically attacked a 17-year-old African-American who was walking down a street in Compton. Aguilar chased down and struck the victim in the head with a metal pipe, officials wrote.

Marquez threatened to shoot another African-American juvenile who was present and both admitted that the attack had a lot to do race and color, FBI officials wrote.

“The perpetrators of hate crimes hurt not only the individuals who are attacked but also society as a whole,” said United States Attorney André Birotte, Jr. said through the written statement. “For this reason, we are dedicated to working with our law enforcement partners to ensure that justice is brought to those who chose to commit such heinous crimes.”

“These juvenile victims were threatened and assaulted because of their race,” said Roy L. Austin, Jr., Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. “Such intimidation and violence has no place in our society. The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute those who commit such acts of hate.”

Aguilar and Marquez are scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Terry J. Hatter, Jr. on Jan. 6. The defendants face a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison.