White members of a Florida gang thought they were punishing a black member of their gang when they attempted to forcibly tattoo him with what they thought was a racial slur, police said.
However, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said the group tattooed, “F–k, Niger”, inadvertently cursing the landlocked West African nation.
Authorities said Lucian Evans, Brandon Hayley, Brett Singleton and Mary Elizabeth Durham were trying to punish Michael Hart who apparently violated the gang’s rules, the Miami Herald reported Thursday.
Evans, Hayley and Durham were charged in the Jan. 28 incident. Evans, 40, was charged with aggravated battery, armed robbery, second-degree larceny, fraud and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, Hayley, 28, was charged with battery, aggravated battery and armed robbery and Durham, 35, was charged with aggravated battery and armed robbery.
Lucian Evans, Mary Elizabeth Durham and Brandon Hayley. All three were charged in the incident with Michael Hart.(Marion County Sheriff’s Office)
Singleton, 45, wasn’t charged in the incident, according to the Miami Herald.
Hart reportedly told authorities Singleton came to his home and demanded that he go with the group to cover his gang tattoo which read “CWB.” Hart said Evans and Haley held him down while Singleton started to cover the tattoo and when he tried to wriggle away he was knocked out by Dunham. He said Durham was the one tattooing him.
Hart said when he woke up his phone was gone and his butt was in pain. The Miami Herald, citing an arrest affidavit, reported that Hart “felt like he’d been sodomized,” but didn’t provide more details.
