Odessa Man Sentenced To 25 Years In Prison For Hate Crime Stabbing
By: Dylan Brooks
Updated: November 29, 2012
MIDLAND -- An Odessa man will be calling state prison home for the next 25 years, after he was convicted for his role in a Midland bar stabbing that was supposedly racially motivated.
Drew Anthony Nickason was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Thursday afternoon.
A Midland County jury found Nickason, 26, guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charges on November 28th.
The verdict on the second degree felony charges came after 2 and a half hours of deliberation.
Nickason stabbed a man in the arm during a fight at Buffalo Wild Wings in Midland (5107 West Wadley Avenue) on December 28, 2011.
Nickason and alleged accomplice Dallas Dean Decker tried to run away after the incident.
However, police caught up with both men and arrested them.
As of Thursday evening, it was unclear if Decker, 22, had ever been formally charged for involvement in the incident.
The Midland County District Attorney's Office investigated the stabbing as a hate crime.
Prosecutors said that the incident was racially motivated, and they added that Nickason chose his victim based on that bias.
The hate crime designation made the charges worthy of first degree felony punishment -- which in turn helped lead to the stiff sentence for Nickason.
However, friends of Nickason say he's not a racist or a hateful man.
"He's a good guy when he's sober," friend Gabriel Aguirre told Big 2. "And he's not a leader. He's a follower. 10 to 1 he didn't start this. He just followed a bunch of his buddies. You know, they were all in there [Wednesday]. And you know what they did? They pleaded the 5th [Amendment] for him. And that was his homeboys, his defense -- all pleaded the 5th on his (butt)."
Aguirre added that he hoped that Nickason would use his time behind bars to change his ways, so that he doesn't end up involved in a similar incident.
Drew Anthony Nickason was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Thursday afternoon.
A Midland County jury found Nickason, 26, guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charges on November 28th.
The verdict on the second degree felony charges came after 2 and a half hours of deliberation.
Nickason stabbed a man in the arm during a fight at Buffalo Wild Wings in Midland (5107 West Wadley Avenue) on December 28, 2011.
Nickason and alleged accomplice Dallas Dean Decker tried to run away after the incident.
However, police caught up with both men and arrested them.
As of Thursday evening, it was unclear if Decker, 22, had ever been formally charged for involvement in the incident.
The Midland County District Attorney's Office investigated the stabbing as a hate crime.
Prosecutors said that the incident was racially motivated, and they added that Nickason chose his victim based on that bias.
The hate crime designation made the charges worthy of first degree felony punishment -- which in turn helped lead to the stiff sentence for Nickason.
However, friends of Nickason say he's not a racist or a hateful man.
"He's a good guy when he's sober," friend Gabriel Aguirre told Big 2. "And he's not a leader. He's a follower. 10 to 1 he didn't start this. He just followed a bunch of his buddies. You know, they were all in there [Wednesday]. And you know what they did? They pleaded the 5th [Amendment] for him. And that was his homeboys, his defense -- all pleaded the 5th on his (butt)."
Aguirre added that he hoped that Nickason would use his time behind bars to change his ways, so that he doesn't end up involved in a similar incident.
