Man charged with hate crime in attack on 3 Mainland high school students, release states

According to reports the hate crime incident was completely unprovoked

By Edward Era Barbacena

A Volusia County white man was charged with a hate crime after yelling racial slurs and using a pipe to smash a car occupied by three high school students in an unprovoked attack in the Osteen area, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.

Richard Burnham, 58, who lives near DeLand, was arrested Wednesday and charged with criminal mischief causing damage of $1,000 or more, and three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill.

The charges were enhanced to a hate crime due to Burnham’s use of a racial slur during the attack, according to the release and a charging affidavit.

Two of the three victims are Black, according to the charging affidavit. The students attend Mainland High School in Daytona Beach.

Deputies responded to the Circle K at 320 N. State Road 415 in Osteen shortly before 3 p.m. Saturday after the three students, who are 17 and 18 years old, reported the incident.

They told deputies they were getting gas when a man became hostile and aggressive toward them and hurled racial slurs at them, the release and charging affidavit stated.

They said the man then went into the gas station and when he came out, he grabbed a pipe from his truck, the release stated.

As the students sat inside the Toyota Camry, the man smashed the passenger side of the vehicle with the pipe, according to the release.

The man shattered the front passenger window and dented the passenger door panels before the students were able to drive away on State Road 415, the release stated.

The students provided a detailed description of the man, his pickup and the trailer it was pulling with two four-wheelers, according to the release.

West Volusia man identified

Using surveillance video and help from analysts at the Volusia County Crime Center, deputies identified Burnham, whose photo and vehicle matched the descriptions.

When interviewed by detectives on Wednesday, Burnham confirmed he was at the gas station and was involved in a verbal altercation with the young men, the release stated.

Burnham denied using a racial slur and said he only called them “losers,” according to the charging affidavit.

Burnham claimed the men had shot him with an airsoft gun and threatened to kill him, the release stated. Burnham said that prompted him to throw a metal pipe at the car, the release stated.

But deputies at the scene did not find an airsoft gun with the high school students, according to the release.

And Burnham did not contact law enforcement to report the incident, the release stated. Burnham also changed his story from being shot twice to being shot three or four times when confronted with discrepancies in his timeline, according to the release and charging affidavit.

Burnham was released from the Volusia County Branch Jail on Wednesday evening after posting a $40,000 bond.