Pittsburgh man gets prison for ethnic intimidation

One of three black victims of a 2018 Avalon bar beating told a judge in a statement he was only in the Jackman Inn in July 2018 to give a thank-you note to a friend in the kitchen.

The friend had catered a meal to celebrate the victim’s son’s high school graduation, Paul Morris wrote in a victim impact statement about the attack by a group of self-styled skinheads, including a man sentenced Thursday.

Allegheny County Court Judge Beth Lazzara sentenced James Edward Kryl, 47, of Howden Street, Pittsburgh to 1 to 2 years in state prison for ethnic intimidation.

She also ordered Kryl to stay away from Morris and two other men who were beaten in the bar by the skinheads.

In a victim impact statement, Morris said he continues to see a doctor as the result of his injuries, and suffered the loss of at least $1,000 in wages.

He said that he normally warns people to not fight, to turn the other cheek.

Then he was jumped by the group of men and women and “had to fight for his life.”

“I am embarrassed that I had to engage in the exact violence I cautioned everyone around me from ever resorting to,” he said. “Also, I have really struggled putting this into the past. I am hyper alert to my environment, constantly looking to see if there is a potential attacker near me.”

He said he “very easily could have been killed, if not for my size and effort to survive.”

Morris asked for Kryl to receive a stiff sentence as a deterrent to other hate group members. Efforts were unsuccessful to contact Morris for further comment.

Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office spokesman Mike Manko said: “Sentencing is up to the judge and is based on a number of different factors. That said, a sentence of state (prison) time for this particular defendant is significant.”