Last Wednesday, a federal judge sentenced a man to life in prison for the deaths of two homeless men. The men were beaten to death in September 1998.

U. S. District Judge Elizabeth Kovachevich sentenced James Robertson, 32, to life in federal prison. He was found guilty of two counts of murder in aid of racketeering by a jury on October 18th.

Robertson’s three co-defendants, Kenneth Hoover, Charles Marovskis, and Cory Hulse, all entered guilty pleas and are awaiting sentencing.

Alfred Williams

The two attacks took place during the early morning hours of September 13, 1998, in different locations.

According to testimony during the trial, Robertson was a member of a Skinheads hate group known as “Tampa Blood And Honour.” The organization believe that white people of Aryan descent are the superior race. It also considered homeless people, regardless of race, to be inferior.

Police said that during the early morning hours of September 13, 1998, Robertson, and his co-defendants, Hoover, 38; Marovskis, 32; and Hulse, 38, participated in what they referred to as “bum rolling,” an act of targeting and committing acts of violence against homeless people.

The men encountered Alfred Williams, 61, in downtown Tampa, under the Crosstown Expressway. The defendants attacked Williams and beat him to death with several objects including a tire iron.

Richard Arseneau

Later in the evening, the group encountered Richard Arseneau, 44, in a vacant lot near Interstate 275 and E. Fletcher Avenue. Arseneau was attacked and beaten with a hatchet. Both men died of blunt force trauma to the head.

Court documents said another homeless man was also attacked at Interstate 275 at Bird Street, near the Hillsborough River. He was beaten over the head with what is believed to be a cinder block. The victim sustained severe lacerations, but was able to escape by jumping into the river.