Utah man wanted to ‘kill Mexicans’ and beat 2 men, cops say. Now he’s going to prison

A Utah man was found guilty of three hate crimes after he was accused of beating a Latino father and son outside a family tire shop, local media report.

Alan Dale Convington, 51, went to Lopez Tires on Nov. 27, 2018, prosecutors said in the Deseret News. He had a metal pipe over his shoulder and said he was there to “kill Mexicans,” according to the Deseret News.

He struck Luis Lopez, 18, and shattered his cheekbone, Deseret News reported.

“In this country, it is against the law to attack someone and hurt them because of where they are born, because of where you think they are born. And that’s what this defendant did,” federal prosecutor Rose Gibson said Wednesday, according to Deseret News. “It was a planned, vicious and brutal attack.”

The verdict for Covington came after five hours of deliberations and five days of testimony, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.

Thirteen witnesses recounted the brutal beating, and prosecutors argued that Covington clearly wanted to hurt members of “a particular ethnicity,” according to The Salt Lake Tribune.

The defense, however, said Covington was after the Mexican mafia, which he believed killed his daughter, the Tribune reported. They said he was not after Mexicans.

“Mr. Covington doesn’t have a problem with Mexicans,” public defender Emily Stirba said, according to the Associated Press. “He was after the cartel. And no one likes the Mexican cartel. The United States doesn’t like the Mexican cartel.”

According to AP, Jose Lopez, the owner of the tire shop, said the attack destroyed his life.

Covington could spend the rest of his life in prison, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.

This story was originally published February 19, 2020 at 9:59 PM with the headline "Utah man wanted to ‘kill Mexicans’ and beat 2 men, cops say. Now he’s going to prison."