Jimmy Lee Dean
A Dallas County jury has just found Jonathan Russell Gunter guilty of first degree aggravated robbery in connection with the July 2008 robbery and beating of Jimmy Lee Dean.
Gunter, 32, faces a sentence ranging anywhere from five to 99 years. Dallas Voice News Editor John Wright, in a call from the courthouse, said testimony is complete in the sentencing phase of the trial and the court has taken a break before the sentence is decided.
An update will be posted on Instant Tea as soon as the sentence has been announced.
According to police, Gunter and 30-year-old Bobby Jack Singleton pistol-whipped Dean with a 9mm Glock handgun then, while shouting anti-gay slurs, kicked and stomped Dean’s head, face and body as he lay motionless in the street just off Cedar Springs Road.
The attack, which has been called Dallas’ worst anti-gay hate crime in recent years, left Dean hospitalized for 10 days. He recently told Dallas Voice he still has not regained his sense of smell and that a procedure to repair his right eyelid, damaged in the assault, was unsuccessful. He is waiting on yet another sugery to repair and replace his teeth and he still suffers psychological effects of the beating, Dean said.
it is an outrage that more of our community has not been there to support Jimmy. this happened to one of our own and in our own community!
Get off your high horse Elizabeth.
How dare you tell me how I should be supporting MY community!
Your deplorable attitude will not gain you any supporters in your causes.
Being angry all the time is going to deteroriate your health quickly.
Be thankful justice is being served and hope Jimmy is well.
really now? so i guess no one should point out how unsupportive many of us (myself included) are of each other. let’s just all keep walking around with our heads up our butts.
i dare say something because it is important that we support each other! if you have done something to support the people in our community who are hurting then… guess what… I wasn’t talking to or about you.
I am just getting more and more disgusted by the apathy in our community. WAKE UP PEOPLE.
Elizabeth is absolutely right.
A vicious and brutal anti-gay hate crime was committed right here off Cedar Springs in the heart of gay Oaklawn, and we have paid very little attention to this story.
If we should ever be marching in the streets about anything, we should be marching in our OWN streets in Oaklawn to make them safe and clean for those that live there, and those of us who are just visiting.
I would like to say thanks to everyone who came to courtroom and showed support to Jimmy. It not only sent a signal to the court that the LGBT community is not gonna take this shit, but it also sent a signal to Jimmy that some members of our community care. Elizabeth, I’m so glad you “got off your high horse” to join us for several hours at the courthouse. By the way What the Deuce, did I see you there?
I think people would rather pretend this stuff doesn’t happen.
I FORCED myself out of bed this morning to go to the courthouse.
I FORCED myself to look at the pictures of what happened to Jimmy.
It made it so real. Too real, in fact.
Mr. Gunter’s entire family was in the courtroom to support him. (Brother, Mother, Father, Grandparents)
We (the LGBTQ community) are Jimmy’s family and I wish there had been more people at the courthouse to support him.
If they attack one of us, then they attack all of us!
Elizabeth, I certainly agree it would have been nice to have more people there however your message might be received a little better without the judgemental tone. Some people have jobs or families that take them away during those hours. I myself had plans made weeks in advance on day 2 and had other things that kept me away on day 1. That doesn’t mean I don’t care about our community it just means that sometimes we all get a little busy. I did follow coverage of the trial and did my best to counter the bs being spewed about it on the dmn website comments. Does that make me a bad person?
Outrage is often what brings about change; however, when misdirected, outrage does little more than offend and isolate others. I can certainly appreciate the passionate points raised in this discussion and the call to action from those in this community. My questions is this…what type of support and action counts during a time when the wrongs have been committed and victims have been claimed? Should the reaction of one person be something that another inherently experiences?
As I said before, outrage can bring about change; however the way I experience that outrage and rally behind a community shaken (and remember the gay community stretches far beyond the borders of Dallas) is by trying to change the way such crimes are thought of by legislator, judges, and juries. Imagine how you would feel if no consideration was given to the fact that the victim was targeted and victimized because of his sexual orientation? Is this crime worse than others?
By voicing your opinions about what are the worst of crimes (i.e. is this robbery worse then others because the victim was beaten and taunted with anti-gay slurs?) you can support your community and beyond that influence a justice system that for so long has not taken such things into consideration. (www.depravityscale.org). I encourage you to reflect on this crime and if you it is something that interests you, visit the website above and tell me what you think.