A black man said he went on a shooting spree in three separate incidences across Alabama and Georgia, injuring five people, because he was targeting white men.
“Basically, he explained throughout his life, specifically white males had taken from him and also what he described as military-looking white males had taken from him,” Detective Brandon Lockhart said of Justin Tyran Roberts during a preliminary hearing.
Roberts is a 39-year-old criminal with a rap sheet.
Originally, Roberts said white men attacked him in the woods with a slingshot. But, upon examination, he didn’t have any injuries.
A lawyer for Roberts has requested a mental health evaluation for her client, arguing Roberts was “suffering from delusions” and a “disconnect from reality.”
“The officer’s testimony has demonstrated that Mr. Roberts is having delusions and a disconnect from reality,” the lawyer argued.
Great excuse.
Lockhart testified that Roberts was intent on shooting white men, saying in court of one victim that “I had to have him.”
He has not been charged with a hate crime, at least not yet.
All three victims are expected to recover from their wounds.
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