Adult, 2 teens charged with beating elderly black man

[FLORIDA J]

(CNN) -- Authorities have charged two teenagers and an adult in connection with the beating of a 76-year-old African-American man early Tuesday in Baltimore, Maryland, in an incident police say had a racial connection.

Emmanuel Miller, 16, and Zachary Watson, 17 are charged as adults, police said. They and Calvin Lockner, 28, face numerous charges in the alleged beating of James Privott, including attempted murder, assault and harassing a person because of race or religion, according to court documents.

Lockner is a white supremacist with the nickname "Hitler," Baltimore police spokesman Anthony Gugliemi told CNN.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Fred Bealefeld told reporters some of Lockner's tattoos seem to indicate his affiliation with racist groups such as the Aryan Brotherhood, according to audio comments posted on the Web site of CNN affiliate WBAL.

There is no evidence the teenagers were affiliated with any white supremacist groups, Gugliemi said, but the two knew Lockner.

Police responding to a report of an armed carjacking about 3:25 a.m. Tuesday found Privott with a head injury, according to probable cause statements accompanying charges, filed in the District Court of Maryland for Baltimore City.

Privott told police he was loading his Chevy Tahoe after fishing in the nearby Patapsco River when three or four white males approached him and began to kick and punch him, knocking him to the ground while using racial epithets, according to the statements.

One of the men struck him with a baseball bat, Privott said. While he was on the ground, the men stole his wallet, which contained $19, as well as the keys to his vehicle, he told police. The men left in the Tahoe, the statements said.

Privott was taken to a hospital and later was transferred to the University of Maryland Hospital's shock trauma center because of his head injuries. Doctors told police he had a possible fractured eye orbital bone and had sustained serious head trauma, according to the court documents.

Privott remained in critical condition, but was making progress, a Baltimore police spokeswoman said Thursday

"What has happened is an unfortunate thing," Privott's wife, Ethel, told WBAL. "I think we're living in a prison world because we can't -- we're not safe here. We go and try to have clean fun and this is what happens."

The Chevy Tahoe's tracking system helped police locate the vehicle, which eventually crashed and overturned, the court documents said. An anonymous witness led officers to Lockner after seeing him running from the accident scene. As he was being arrested, Lockner told police, "I'm sorry for what I did," according to the probable cause statements.

Lockner told police he was involved in the beating, but said another man -- later identified by police as Watson -- was the one who assaulted Privott and took his wallet. Both Miller and Watson, however, told police it was Lockner who assaulted Privott, according to the court documents. Watson claimed Lockner used a sledgehammer and Miller used a bat. Both youth said Lockner forced them into the Tahoe after the assault, according to the statements. Watson said the three then smoked marijuana, police said.

Bealefeld told reporters that while authorities have received conflicting information from the three, "I think the consensus is that Mr. Lockner played a leading role in a lot of this."

Miller said, according to the probable cause statements, that he, Lockner and Watson were at Fort Armistead Park near the river when they saw Privott and a woman fishing. Miller said the three asked the man and woman if they had any water or cigarettes, but they said no. Lockner grew angry at their refusal, Miller told police, and used a racial epithet as they were walking away, the documents said.

Miller said the three waited for the woman with Privott to leave and then Lockner assaulted him, hitting him about 10 times, according to the probable cause statements.

Ethel Privott told WBAL the two enjoy fishing near the park and have been doing so for more than a decade. "It's usually a party," she said, but the two had stayed late on Tuesday.

"A lot of seniors go down there. It's a nice secluded area, and we have fun. Until this," she said.

A preliminary hearing for all three suspects is set for September 18.