Overview:
According to CCPD, Foxworth later told detectives that "he admitted to shooting at the incident locations because he doesn't like 'towel heads'...[or] African Americans (using the N-word)."
The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia announced today that a federal grand jury has indicted Larry Edward Foxworth, 48, on two federal hate crimes charges and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia Ryan K. Buchanan said at a press conference today, “No person should be afraid to shop or go to work in our community. Nor should people have to worry that they may be violently attacked because of the color of their skin.”
According to a statement issued this afternoon, Foxworth allegedly fired multiple shots into two businesses in the 6500 block of Tara Boulevard near Mt. Zion Road around 2:30 a.m. on July 30, 2021.
The indictment alleges Foxworth “willfully attempted, through the use of a firearm, to cause bodily injury to customers, employees, and other people present at a convenience store located at or near 6566 Tara Boulevard in Jonesboro, Georgia, because of actual or perceived race, color, and national origin of any person. Specifically, the defendant repeatedly discharged a firearm into the store while the store was visibly open for business and while D.W., a person known to the Grand Jury, was inside and while another person, unknown to the Grand Jury, was sitting outside on the premises. The offense included an attempt to kill.”
“Hate-fueled violence has no place in a civilized society,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Thankfully no one was injured by the conduct alleged in this case, but the Justice Department is committed to using all the tools in our law enforcement arsenal to prosecute allegations of hate crimes.”
Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta, added, “Hate crimes are the top priority of the FBI’s Civil Rights Program, due to the damaging impact they have on victims and entire communities. This office will use every resource available to ensure that criminals committing bias-motivated violent crimes are held accountable.”
Foxworth is charged with violating the Matthew Shepard-James Byrd Hate Crime Prevention Act of 2009. The act makes it a federal crime “to willfully cause bodily injury, or attempt to do so using a dangerous weapon, because of the victim’s actual or perceived race, color, religion, or national origin” and “extends federal prohibitions to certain other crimes committed because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of the victim.”
Clayton County Police say they responded to gunshots and criminal damage to property in the 6000 block of Tara Boulevard, then heard a shot in the 700 block of Mt. Zion Road. Officers stopped a 2016 Ford Fusion that allegedly was “weaving in and out lanes” and found “an open container along with a bag of ammunition to include spent shell casings in plain view in the vehicle.” When officers arrested Foxworth, CCPD says, “he made a couple of spontaneous utterances….’I can give you a name and we can make this disappear’ [and] ‘this is a hate crime and this is a targeted hit.'”
According to CCPD, Foxworth later told detectives that “he admitted to shooting at the incident locations because he doesn’t like ‘towel heads’…[or] African Americans (using the N-word).”
As of press time, Foxworth was in the Clayton County Jail on ten counts related to an April 18 15-count indictment. Five of those counts were listed as gang activity, according to online court records. Foxworth was granted bond on all but one first-degree criminal damage charge, according to online jail records:
- Possession of firearm by felon and first offender on probation ($10,000 property bond, $1200 fees)
- First-degree criminal damage (2 counts; $5000 property bond, $700 fees on one count, no bond on the other)
- Aggravated assault (2 counts; $25,000 property bond and $2700 fees on each count)
- Firearm use by a convicted felon during commission of a crime ($10,000 property bond, $1200 fees)
- Terroristic threats ($2000 property bond, $400 fees)
- Obstructing or hindering law enforcement officers ($500 property bond, $150 fees)
- Open container violation (state; $500 property bond, $150 fees)
- Improper lane change ($500 property bond, $150 fees)
County jail records list a Jonesboro motel as Foxworth’s address, while court records show he had several pending charges from last July and had been denied bond last August. On January 18, a motion was filed to reduce his bond on one aggravated assault charge.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Clayton County Police Department are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Alan Gray and Trial Attorney Alec C. Ward of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division are prosecuting.
Foxworth is considered innocent of all charges until and unless he is convicted in a court of law.
We’ve asked Clayton County Police to confirm the incident addresses and will update when we hear back.
