Man gets maximum prison sentence for attack on FedEx driver
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) — A man apologized in court to the FedEx driver he attacked in 2022, but the judge said that did not undo the damage of the assault or the racial slurs the defendant used.
“I’ve been in criminal law, either as an attorney or now a judge, for 26 years. What you did stands out to me. It’s something I’ll never forget. It’s that bad,” Judge Kenneth Barnard told John Hulst during a Monday morning sentencing hearing in Kalamazoo.
The judge went above the guidelines and sentenced Hulst, 38, to the maximum of 16 months to two years in prison for ethnic intimidation and 93 days for assault and battery.
“If I could give you a day more, I would,” Barnard said.
He said he wanted to order back-to-back sentences, but the law required them to run at the same time. Hulst will also have to pay court costs and about $612 in restitution.
Barnard said the guidelines, which called for probation and up to a year in jail, were “wholly inadequate” because they did not take into account his responsibility to protect the community and the history of racism.
“I couldn’t in good conscience sentence you to that,” he said.
Tirrell Lipsey, the FedEx driver Hulst attacked, asked the judge to impose the maximum sentence.
“This incident has left me heavily traumatized. While I have experienced racism based on the color of my skin and the biases of white society, nothing compared to the hatred I faced that day,” Lipsey, who is Black, told the court.
He said he initially hoped Hulst would get the help he needed, but that changed when he learned of an initial plea agreement that offered a sentence of time served and that Hulst was already serving eight to 30 years in prison on a conviction for the manufacturing or delivery of meth out of St. Joseph County.
“Mr. Lipsey dealt with this indignity … in such an upstanding way. He thought of you first. He thought of you needing assistance, even though it deeply shook him,” Barnard said. “But he’s right that hate crimes cannot be tolerated in this community.”
Portage FedEx driver attacked, called racial slurs
Hulst attacked Lipsey while the FedEx driver was working in Portage on Aug. 27, 2022. Lipsey shared dashcam video of the attack with News 8, showing Hulst trying to strike Lipsey in the face while repeatedly calling him the N-word.
Watch the dashcam and Ring camera footage provided to News 8 in the video below.
Lipsey said Hulst then began following him to homes and stealing packages. One of the thefts was caught on a Ring doorbell camera — the neighbor who captured the footage said there were medical supplies inside for his sister. Lipsey said the interaction went on for almost 10 minutes.
“You hit Mr. Lipsey. You grabbed packages from him. You call him the worst words that I won’t even repeat in this courtroom,” Barnard told Hulst in court.
In December 2023, Hulst pleaded guilty to racial intimidation and assault and battery.
His defense attorney said he was dealing with serious mental health and substance abuse problems at the time of the assault. Given the chance to speak before the sentence was handed down, Hulst apologized.
“I would like to truly apologize to Lipsey and his family. I was not myself that day. And I’m truly sorry for the effect on you guys and I apologize, deeply, from my heart,” Hulst said, turning to face the gallery behind him.
Barnard acknowledged the apology as “something positive” and said he believes Hulst is capable of redemption. But the judge also pointed out Hulst has a criminal history that includes eight prior felony and eight prior misdemeanor convictions, that he has an obligation to protect the community and that the sentence should serve as a reminder that hate crimes are unacceptable.
“I’m feeling pretty good,” Lipsey told reporters after the hearing. “It definitely is going to send a message in hopes that people will think twice before they do things like this because these things shouldn’t be tolerated and yet every day, they are.”
—News 8’s Demetrios Sanders contributed to this report.
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