Judge dismisses hate crime charges
LYNN HAVEN (AP) – A Panhandle judge has dismissed hate crime charges against a former school bus driver accused of spitting on and shoving two Muslim children at a fast food restaurant in 2007.
Circuit Judge Dedee Costello dismissed the charges against 63-year-old Thomas E. Plaisted of Lynn Haven after the two children say in depositions they were uncertain whether they had been harassed.
Plaisted’s attorney says the children’s parents also said they were not aware of problems with the man. The parents initially refused to allow the children to be deposed.
Prosecutors say they could not pursue the case because they could not locate two eye witnesses.