Parsons’ plea deal dropping hate crime charge dropped after defendant hurls invectives at victim in court
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A man who attacked a gay patron in a suburban Rochester bar drew a sentence of five and a half years in prison on Dec. 23.
Jesse Parsons, 25, hurled a stream of anti-gay invective at Lance Neve before beating him severely at a bar in Spencerport in March. Neve, 28, sustained fractures to his skull, nose, eye socket and jaw.
Parsons was initially charged with assault committed as a hate crime, which carries a sentence of five to 15 years. The hate crime component was dropped in a plea deal that called for a four-year sentence, but the agreement was voided after Parsons made disparaging remarks about his victim at sentencing last month.
Returning to court Dec. 23, Parsons apologized for his outburst and opted to stand by his plea in return for an extra 18-month sentence imposed by Judge Richard Keenan. In exchange for prosecutors dropping the hate crime, Parsons also agreed to pay Neve’s medical expenses of more than $24,000.
