To make their point about their right to fly the battle flag and what they thought of African-Americans, they threatened black motorists with epithets and a gun, heckled black customers at a Paulding County Wal-Mart with the same epithet, and repeated their actions at a convenience store. The store manager called 911.
Then they happened upon the outdoor birthday party for an 8-year-old African-American child at his grandmother’s house in Douglasville. The confrontation that ensued, and its aftermath, culminated Monday with lengthy prison sentences for Torres and Norton.
[...] Assistant District Attorney David Emadi detailed how the group had gone on a drunken, two-county spree July 24 and July 25. Emadi said that by the time the group reached the birthday party, they pulled a black, tactical pump shotgun out of one of the trucks. The shotgun matched one found in Torres’ truck later, Emadi said.
Emadi said Torres and two others passed the gun around, holding it as they and the others taunted not only the adults but the children.
“‘We’re going to kill some (racial epithet)s today,’” Emadi said, quoting witnesses present during the standoff. “We’ll blow the head off the little bastards. We’ll kill all the little (racial epithet)s.”
Someone passed ammunition to Torres and he leveled the shotgun at the group and yelled, “I’ll kill all of you (racial epithet)s,” Emadi said.
