EYE-GOUGING NAZI HELD FOR MORE EVALUATION; PARTNER TO STAND TRIAL DEC. 2

The court is still trying to figure out what to do with Steven Masten (pictured), the Nazi authorities say gouged out the eyes of his ex-friend, Aryan Terror Brigade member Dave Phillips. His partner in crime Frank Casiano, not so much. He’s on trial in a few months.

One People’s Project

The reputed neo-Nazi that in his alleged words ripped the eyes out of a former colleague will be recommitted and evaluated to determine mental competency for trial while plans for his fellow defendant will stand trial on Dec. 2.

Judge Dawn A. Segal ruled today that Stephen Masten, 30, will be committed for 60 days, after which attorneys will appear before her to see if he is fit to stand trial for the May 2012 assault on Aryan Terror Brigade (ATB) member David Phillips, 44, who was permanently blinded after Masten and 29-year-old Frank Casiano allegedly beat and stabbed him before gouging his eyes out for trying to take Masten’s girlfriend to a neo-Nazi event while he was in jail on theft charges. Both Masten and Casiano, who both face charges of of attempted murder, aggravated assault and burglary have been incarcerated since their May 22, 2012 arrests, and the court has been evaluating Masten’s mental state since February when they first ruled him incompetent. Prosecutors noted that medical officials feel that some symptoms may be exaggerated during past evaluations. Today’s ruling also allows Masten’s attorney to sit in during the evaluations.

Casiano’s Dec. 2 trial is scheduled for three days before Judge Robert P. Coleman in room 1001 of Philadelphia’s  Criminal Justice Center. As of July, all motions for his case to proceed had been resolved.

According to police reports, Masten and Casiano were members of an Aryan Nations faction and at the time Phillips regarded them as his “Aryan brothers”. The website of the ATB, who recently saw two of its members incarcerated for a hate crime assault in New Jersey on three Egyptian men, is no longer operational.