A 58-year-old white man is facing hate crime charges for an unprovoked, racially prejudiced attack on three high schoolers at a Volusia County gas station over the weekend, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Richard Burnham, 58, directed racial slurs at three Black teenagers and beat the side of their car with a metal pipe outside a Circle K on State Road 415 in Osteen around 3 p.m. Saturday, according to his arrest report.
Burnham was arrested Wednesday on charges of criminal mischief causing damage of $1,000 or more and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill, according to the report.
Those charges will be enhanced under Florida’s hate crime law, which reclassifies crimes motivated by prejudice based on race, color or ethnicity, among other characteristics.
The high schoolers, all 17- or 18-year-olds, were inside their 2022 gray Toyota Camry with temporary Florida tags when Burnham approached the car yelling racial slurs at the teenagers, they told deputies.
After the teenagers told Burnham to “go away,” he went inside the Circle K and purchased a case of beer, then went to his late-model Dodge Ram parked on the other side of the gas station, where he retrieved a metal pipe, according to the report.
Burham began to strike the passenger side of the Toyota Camry, shattering the window, according to the report.
The three teenagers drove away to put distance between themselves and Burnham but he followed them for two miles in his truck, which was attached to a trailer carrying two four-wheelers, according to the report.
According to a Sheriff’s Office spokesperson, Burnham confirmed to investigators Wednesday that he was at the gas station at the time of the incident but claimed the teenagers shot him with an airsoft gun and threatened to kill him.
However, he never called the police or told the Circle K attendant, Andrew Gant of the Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
There were also discrepancies in Burnham’s timeline of the events and deputies on the scene did not find an airsoft gun with the teenagers, Gant said.
Burnham posted a $40,000 bond Wednesday evening after being transported to the Volusia County Branch Jail.
njaramillo@orlandosentinel.com
