JACKSONVILLE, FL -- A man who police say targeted his victims by race is now on trial, accused of murdering a Hispanic man during an armed robbery. It's not his first time before a judge, and not the first time prosecutors say he's targeted a Hispanic victim. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office documented more than two dozen crimes targeting Hispanics during the last four months of 2004. Meigo Bailey is connected to two of those incidents. Bailey is on trial for murder this week. He's accused of killing Francisco Maldonado during a robbery during that time in 2004. The robbery where Maldonado was killed was one of two attacks police say Bailey carried out against Hispanics on the First Coast in a month's time.

"That just shows that this guy knew who he could victimize. He knew what he was looking for," said JSO spokeswoman Melissa Bujeda.
"He knew he wanted large sums of money, and that's what he was targeting."

Police tracked Bailey down after he burst into a Southside home in December 2004. Detectives say he confessed to that crime, and to murdering Francisco Maldonado during a similar attack a month before. It's Maldonado's murder that has Bailey facing up to life in prison if he's convicted this week. The attacks were not "hate crimes" in the traditional sense. Police say Bailey and others were going after Hispanics because they are easy victims.