Bethel Park Man Sentenced To Probation, Home Confinement For Hate Crime Attack
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BETHEL PARK, Pa. (AP) - A Pennsylvania man who admitted violating the federal hate crimes law when he used anti-Muslim slurs and broke the jaw of another man while drunk at a restaurant has been spared a prison term.
A federal judge instead sentenced Jeffrey Burgess to three years of probation and four months of home confinement on Friday. The 55-year-old Bethel Park man will also have to pay his victim restitution, but that amount hasn't been determined.
Burgess had pleaded guilty late last year as part of a deal with prosecutors. His lawyer has said Burgess' alcoholism contributed to the November 2016 attack.
Authorities say Burgess began insulting a man sitting next to him at the restaurant and repeatedly punched him in an unprovoked attack. The victim, who is not Muslim, suffered a broken jaw, a head injury and lost a tooth.
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