Duval man sentenced to 5 years in prison for federal hate crimes in racially motivated attacks
A Duval County man was sentenced to 60 months in prison on Wednesday for two federal hate crimes in the 2022 attacks on two Black women with a gun, according to a news release from the Department of Justice.
Action News Jax told you in July when Frederick Eugene Pierallini III pleaded guilty to the racially motivated attacks.
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On Sept. 10, 2022, Pierallini entered a Daily’s Place convenience store at 620 Chaffee Rd. S. in Jacksonville. The first victim he targeted was working as a clerk behind the register.
The DOJ said that Pierallini attempted to walk out of the store without paying for the snacks he had taken after his card was declined. He then returned, saying abusive words and racial slurs to the clerk. The situation escalated when Pierallini got a shotgun out of his car and pointed it at the victim. He cocked the gun by pulling the slide back to load a shell into the chamber.
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The clerk ran away in fear as Pierallini continued using racial slurs throughout the encounter, the DOJ said.
The second incident happened two days later, on Sept. 22. Pierallini approached a second victim as she was sitting in her walker on the sidewalk in the Lakewood neighborhood.
Once again, he used racial slurs and threatened to kill the victim. He briefly left before returning with a shotgun and fired a single shot. She was not injured in the attack.
Related Story: New details of what led to lockdown of 2 Lakewood preschools as police searched for a suspect
“The defendant is being held accountable for targeting two Black women with a gun on two separate days because of their race,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in the news release. “No one in this country should have to live in fear that when they use public spaces or work at their job, they risk attack by someone who hates them because of the color of their skin. The Justice Department is committed to protecting Black people from racially-motivated violence. We will continue to be relentless in investigating and prosecuting individuals who threaten or commit unlawful acts of hate.”
Action News Jax reported on Sept. 14, 2022, only two days after his second attack, that Pierallini caused 2 Lakewood preschools to go on lockdown.
In that incident, police say Pierallini fired a gun during a mental health episode. He was accused of attempted murder and resisting an officer.
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