2 men sentenced for hate crime attack against Somalis
WICHITA, Kan. — Two southwest Kansas men were punished Wednesday for their roles in a hate crime attack on three Somali that a federal judge said flies in the face of everything cherished in this country.
U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten sentenced Omar Cantero Martinez, 32, a Mexican citizen, to 26 months in prison. His brother, Armando Sotelo, 24, of Dodge City, got a time-served sentence for the 20 months he had already been in jail in the case.
The men were tried last year for three hate crimes charges but the trial ended in a hung jury. In lieu of a re-trial, they later pleaded guilty — Sotelo to one hate crime count and Martinez to one perjury count for falsely testifying at the trial that he had been acting in self-defence.
Both men told the court they were sorry in brief statements.