Texas Men Indicted on Federal Hate Crime Charges for Targeting Victims based on their Sexual Orientation

SHERMAN, Texas – A federal grand jury returned an 18-count superseding indictment charging four Frisco, Texas men with federal hate crime and conspiracy charges in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Brit Featherson today.

Anthony Shelton, 19; Nigel Garrett, 21; Chancler Encalade, 20; and Cameron Ajiduah, 18, were named in a superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury today charging them with conspiring to cause bodily injury to persons because of the sexual orientation of those persons.

According to the indictment, from Jan. 17 to Feb. 7, 2017, the defendants committed home invasions in Plano, Frisco, and Aubrey, Texas. For each of the four home invasions, the defendants used Grindr, a social media dating platform for gay men, to falsely identify as a gay man and arrange to meet the victim at the victim’s home. Upon entering the victim’s home, the defendants assaulted the victim, restrained the victim with tape, and made derogatory statements about the victim being gay. The defendants possessed a firearm during each home invasion, and they stole the victim’s property, including his motor vehicle.

For these crimes, the defendants have been charged with conspiracy, kidnapping, carjacking and possession of a firearm in furtherance of these crimes. The hate crime counts carry a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison.

An indictment merely establishes probable cause, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

This case is being investigated by the ATF, the Plano Police Department and the Frisco Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracey Batson of the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Texas and Trial Attorney Saeed Mody of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.