Douglas Wayne Cornett, 58, pleaded guilty in June to federal hate crimes charges involving attempts to kill and to discharging a firearm during a federal crime of violence.

In Feburary 2024, Cornett followed a box truck driven by a Latino man into the parking lot of a Sheetz off of Interstate 95 in Spotsylvania County.

He then asked another Latino man who was friends with the driver how long he had been present in the United States. When he learned the man driving the box truck had arrived within the last two years, Cornett drew a handgun and fired six rounds, striking the driver three times and the driver's friend once. Both men survived the shooting.

Cornett confessed to a Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Deputy that he shot the victims because of his perception of their national origin.

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