Judge accepts hate crime plea
Tommy Dean Gaa, 66, Maryville, entered an Alford plea Thursday in Nodaway County Circuit Court in connection with an assault, classed as a hate crime, the defendant committed on Sunday, Jan. 25, at the Maryville Hy-Vee supermarket.
Defendants who enter an Alford plea do not admit guilt, but rather acknowledge that the prosecution probably has sufficient evidence to win a conviction.
In terms of sentencing and establishment of a criminal record, an Alford plea is no different than a guilty plea.
According to court records, Gaa was charged with third-degree assault, a Class C felony, after grabbing the arm of a Hy-Vee employee in the grocery store’s dining area.
The employee, who was not identified due to the nature of the crime, had asked Gaa if he wanted white or wheat toast, and Gaa responded by saying, “I’m prejudiced. I’ll take white.”
Moments later, according to court records, Gaa approached the employee and grabbed her arm in a manner that caused bruising, then asked her if she “liked to party.”
Records further show that Gaa told the woman, “I have a place I would like to take you where I hung your grandpa.”
A probable cause statement filed by a Maryville Public Safety officer indicates Gaa initially denied making the statements, then admitted that he committed at least some of the acts described above.
According to the officer’s report, Gaa also “volunteered” a comment about there being “good and bad” people of different races, and in doing so uttered an offensive term for people of African descent.
Circuit Judge Roger Prokes, who presided over Thursday’s proceeding, said the assault charge filed against Gaa would normally have been a misdemeanor but was elevated to a felony under Missouri’s hate crimes statute.
Prokes accepted the Alford plea and ordered a pre-sentencing investigation to be carried out by the Missouri Division of Probation and Parole. Gaa is to be sentenced at 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 11.
The offense to which Gaa pleaded carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. There is no minimum sentence, Prokes said.
