Fountain Valley Member of Aryan Brotherhood Pleads Guilty to Assault in Texas

A Fountain Valley man has pleaded guilty to violently assaulting a Jewish inmate at a federal prison in Texas.

The Justice Department announced Friday that Timothy Lee York, 35, a self-proclaimed member of the United Aryan Brotherhood, pleaded guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon against his Jewish cellmate.

York entered the plea in federal court in Dallas.

York admitted in court that on Dec. 28, 2007, he attacked Stuart Rosoff while Rosoff slept. York said he used a ligature around Rosoff’s neck to forcibly pull Rosoff to the floor, where the cellmate lost consciousness. Once Rosoff was on the floor, York repeatedly kicked him in the head and punched his head and body. York said he attacked Rosoff because he was Jewish.

“The Department of Justice will not hesitate to prosecute those who assault others because of their race or religion,” said Thomas E. Perez, assistant attorney general for the civil rights division.

Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 6 before Judge Sam A. Lindsay. The case was investigated by the Dallas division of the FBI, and is being prosecuted by trial attorneys Jared Fishman and Ryan Murguía of the Department of Justice’s civil rights division.