Walton County man accused of 2020 hate crime in Destin Harbor found not guilty by jury

Collin Bestor, Northwest Florida Daily News
·3 min read
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FORT WALTON BEACH — A Walton County man who was charged with a hate crime in an alleged attack on an Asian man near the Destin Harbor in 2020 was found not guilty by a jury in Fort Walton Beach on Wednesday.

Here is what we know.

Background

On July. 4, 2020, 36-year-old Allan Chandler Muller III was accused of attacking John Mealor while Mealor was looking for his girlfriend in Destin Harbor. Mealor told authorities that Muller began shouting racial slurs to him before Mealor began to walk away.

Once turned away from Muller, Mealor said he was attacked from behind and was punched in the face, which rendered him unconscious, according to an arrest report by the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office. Then, a witness said that Muller kicked Mealor in the face "soccer style," the report said.

Mealor was taken to Fort Walton Beach Medical Center by a friend, where he received treatment for a broken jaw that had to be sewn shut. According to the report, the injuries would likely cause "permanent disfigurement."

After refusing interviews from an investigator, the OCSO Fugitive Warrants Unit tracked down Muller on March 25, 2021, on a fishing boat docked at the Destin Harbor Marina. After a 90-minute standoff, Muller was taken into custody.

Along with the charges of an aggravated battery hate crime, Muller was charged with resisting arrest. He has been out on bond since Aug. 29, 2021.

Also charged with resisting arrest was his brother, Preston, after deputies said he approached his boat, yelled at deputies and refused to back away. His charges were dropped on Aug. 13, 2021.

Trial Recap

The three-day trial began on Monday before Judge John T. Brown. On Tuesday, the state and the defense finished calling witnesses. Among the witnesses was a doctor who verified the scope of Mealor's jaw injury.

During Wednesday's closing arguments, the defense pointed out that there was a lack of cameras in the area of the alleged attack. After four hours of deliberation, the jury found Muller not guilty.

Statement from Muller's lawyer

In an email to the Northwest Florida Daily News on Thursday, Muller's attorney, Shawn Lupella, said, "It is a shame this case went this far and that the only way we could resolve it was taking it to a jury trial."

Lupella said the events transpired differently than what was characterized in the police report. He argued that Mealor did walk away but threw the first punch, which led to Muller punching back.

If convicted, Muller could have faced 30 years in prison because of the "hate crime" element to the charge.

"The difficulty is when all the public knows is the name of the charge and the sensationalism that goes along with it," Lupella said in the email. "We knew that this was not a hate crime and we knew our client was not racist.”

The State Attorney's Office did not respond to a phone call seeking comment on the case.

This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Walton County man found not guilty in alleged 2020 hate crime incident