On December 12, 1997, 19-year-old American punk musician Brian Theodore Deneke (March 9, 1978 – December 12, 1997) was killed in a deliberate

hit and run In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the criminal act of causing a traffic collision and not stopping afterwards. It is considered a supplemental crime in most jurisdictions. Additional obligation In many jurisdictions, there ma ...

attack in

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Potter County, Texas, Potter County, though most of the southern half of the city extends into Randall County, Texas, Randall County ...

, by 17-year-old Dustin Camp. Camp was later found guilty of voluntary vehicular manslaughter and sentenced to ten years' probation and a $10,000 fine, which was later dropped. In 2001, he was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment for a variety of parole violations. He was paroled under supervision on July 31, 2006. The

homicide Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...

and the outcome of the trial against Camp galvanized the punk community and raised accusations about the social tolerance of the Texan city.

Brian Deneke

Brian Deneke was born in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

, the younger of two sons to Michael Max "Mike" Deneke and Elizabeth Louise "Betty" Bieker. His father was a native of

Beloit, Kansas Beloit is a city in and the county seat of Mitchell County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 3,404. History On permanent organization of the county in 1870, Beloit was selected as the county sea ...

, and was born to Sylvester and Darlene Deneke. Betty Deneke was a native of

Concordia, Kansas Concordia is a city in and the county seat of Cloud County, Kansas, United States. It is located along the Republican River in the Smoky Hills region of the Great Plains in North Central Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of th ...

, and was born to Omer and Marie Bieker. Mike Deneke and Betty Bieker married in 1974 in Concordia, and had two sons: Jason Michael and Brian Theodore. The family settled in southwest

, from Wichita in winter 1981. Deneke was a dancer in a

Boy Scout A Scout, Boy Scout, Girl Scout or, in some countries, a Pathfinder is a participant in the Scout Movement, usually aged 10–18 years, who engage in learning scoutcraft and outdoor and other special interest activities. Some Scout organizatio ...

troop during elementary school. He attended Belmar Elementary, Paramount Terrace Elementary, Crockett Middle School, and

Amarillo High School Amarillo High School is a school located in the city of Amarillo, Texas, United States and is one of four high schools in the Amarillo Independent School District and classified as a 5A school by the University Interscholastic League (UIL). In 20 ...

in Amarillo. He dropped out of high school during his

junior year A junior is a person in the third year at an educational institution in the US and some other countries, usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. I ...

, and earned his

GED Ged or GED may refer to: Places * Ged, Louisiana, an unincorporated community in the United States * Ged, a village in Bichiwara Tehsil, Dungarpur District, Rajasthan, India * Delaware Coastal Airport, in Delaware, US, callsign GED People * Ged B ...

at age 17. Deneke was an artist for

Stanley Marsh 3 Stanley Marsh 3 (January 31, 1938 – June 17, 2014) was an American artist, businessman, philanthropist, and prankster from Amarillo, Texas. He is perhaps best known for having been the sponsor of the '' Cadillac Ranch'', an unusual public art ...

's art project, ''Dynamite Museum'', which consisted of handmade mock road signs scattered across Amarillo city streets. Deneke was also the vocalist of punk rock group The White Slave Traders, and aspired to become a famous punk rock musician. Deneke was remembered by his friends as being friendly,

charisma () is a personal quality of magnetic charm, persuasion, or appeal. In the fields of sociology and political science, psychology, and management, the term ''charismatic'' describes a type of leadership. In Christian theology, the term ''chari ...

tic and seen as a leader in local punk circles, helping to organize many local musical events. Nicknamed "Sunshine", Deneke had a spiked

mohawk hairstyle The mohawk (also referred to as a mohican in British English) is a hairstyle in which, in the most common variety, both sides of the head are shaven, leaving a strip of noticeably longer hair in the center. Mohawk hairstyles have existed for ...

and often wore a black leather jacket with a studded leather collar and sported homemade tattoos. He was also an enthusiastic skateboarder, and it was this interest that drew him into the

punk subculture The punk subculture includes a diverse and widely known array of Punk rock, music, Punk ideologies, ideologies, Punk fashion, fashion, and other forms of expression, Punk visual art, visual art, dance, Punk literature, literature, and film. La ...

. Like other punks in Amarillo, Deneke had suffered frequent harassment and bullying, and acquired nicknames such as "Punch" and "Fist Magnet" by tormentors. His parents were against their son's lifestyle, and warned him of possible prejudice from people in Amarillo.

Death

The International House of Pancakes across the street from the Western Plaza Shopping Center was a popular hangout for youths in Amarillo, Texas. On Saturday, December 6, 1997, a confrontation occurred at the IHOP involving Dustin Camp, a student and football player for Tascosa High School in Amarillo, and John King, a member of the punk rock community. One witness, Kendra Petitt, claims that Camp hopped the median in his Cadillac as he tried to run the punks down in the parking lot, and that Camp missed and instead had his car window smashed by John King's

police baton A baton (also truncheon, nightstick, billy club, billystick, cosh, ''lathi'', or simply stick) is a roughly cylindrical club made of wood, rubber, plastic, or metal. It is carried as a compliance tool and defensive weapon by law-enforcemen ...

. Camp and friends denied this event happened. Tension and resentment from this confrontation lingered among the respective groups for the following week. After a night of heavy drinking on Friday, December 12, 1997, Dustin Camp and his companions returned to the Western Plaza Shopping Center at 11:00 p.m., anticipating a fight with members of the punk community. Violence soon broke out between jocks and punks outside of the IHOP restaurant. During the fight Dustin Camp retreated into his Cadillac; at first Camp appeared to drive away but then he sharply turned back, targeting Deneke by running him over. Camp's attorney would later argue that Camp returned to defend a fellow jock; however, this claim was denied by Deneke's companions.

Trial of Dustin Camp

During Camp's murder trial, a passenger eyewitness testified that Camp exclaimed "I'm a Ninja in my Caddy!" as he targeted Deneke and then "I bet he liked that one!" after he ran over Deneke as he sped away from the scene. Dustin Camp was charged with murder. While out on $100,000 bail, he was allowed to attend his graduation ceremony at his original high school. During his trial his defense claimed that he had acted in defense of a friend whom Deneke was attacking. Camp's defense attorney, Warren L. Clark, defended by trying to shift the blame on Deneke and the punk community. Clark portrayed the punks as violent thugs and went as far as calling them "armed goons". Defense attorney Clark used incidents from Deneke's past that made him look violent, and claimed that he was the aggressor on the night of his death. The defense also claimed that witnesses for the prosecution were punks who lied under oath. In contrast to the punks, the defense characterized the alleged murderer as a wholesome and clean-cut youth. The defense emphasized Camp's normalcy, claiming Camp was a good Christian, a good Texan, and a football player. The punks who testified consistently saw Deneke as the victim. One of Camp's companions, who was a passenger in his car, also incriminated him. She did not see him acting in defense of a third person and testified on the "Ninja in the Caddy" exclamations. Although Camp had been charged with murder, the jury only found him guilty of

voluntary manslaughter Voluntary manslaughter is the killing of a human in which the offender acted in the heat of passion, a state that would cause a reasonable person to become emotionally or mentally disturbed to the point that they cannot reasonably control thei ...

and sentenced him to ten years'

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offence (law), offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incar ...

and a $10,000 fine. Both Camp's attorney and the district attorney found this sentence to be uncommonly mild. The jury refused to comment after the trial, citing the welfare of the families. Alternate

juror A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence, make Question of fact, findings of fact, and render an impartiality, impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty or Judgmen ...

Wade Colvin said he was "completely surprised" that the jury did not convict Camp of murder and opted for a manslaughter conviction instead. "What stuck with me more than anything—I felt like Brian was running away and Dustin had a chance o stop his car" Colvin said. He believed the jury gave Camp a second chance because of his youth. "I had those thoughts, too, about him being so young," Colvin said, "but he did wrong."

Camp's probation violations

In June 2001 Camp was apprehended for underage drinking and was arrested for being a minor in the possession of alcohol. Michael Camp, father of Dustin, attempted to cover for his son's probation violations. Michael Camp was formally charged with making false statements to the police. He was sentenced to 60 days' deferred adjudication (a type of probation) and a

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

100 fine after a plea bargain. In September 2001, Dustin Camp received an eight-year prison sentence for violating his probation. Dustin's brother David was also arrested during the June events. He served one year of probation for providing alcohol to minors and hindering police efforts to arrest Dustin Camp. In 2006 Dustin Camp was paroled under supervision until his sentence expired in 2009.

Media coverage and significance

His death shook Amarillo and horrified the punk subculture. Punks in Amarillo reported that they had often been targets of abuse and harassment by jocks because of their differences, even before the incident; after the trial there was a general feeling that Camp walked free because he was seen as a "good kid", unlike the punks. The lenient sentence for Camp caused a public outcry in Amarillo and incited a debate on whether the city was a tolerant place. The mayor of Amarillo, Kel Seliger, attempted to distance the town from the verdict. "It was not a community verdict," he said, "it was 12 people." Nonetheless, the murder trial had prompted the mayor to emphasize tolerance for differences and mutual respect. Deneke's father was unsurprised by the lenient verdict: "Quite honestly," Deneke's father said, "we had been prepared for that. If you pay attention to what happens in the criminal justice system, it's not unusual". National television and radio paid attention to the case in 1999 and 2000 being featured on ''

Leeza ''Leeza'' is an NBC and syndicated daytime television talk show. It premiered on June 14, 1993 as ''John & Leeza from Hollywood'', hosted by John Tesh and Leeza Gibbons. Tesh left the show after seven months, and on January 17, 1994, the pro ...

'', ''

Dateline NBC ''Dateline NBC'' (also known simply as ''Dateline'') is a weekly American television news magazine reality legal show that is broadcast on NBC. It was previously the network's flagship general interest news magazine, but now focuses mainly on ...

'', ''

20/20 Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of visual perception, vision, but technically rates an animal's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity depends on optical and neural factors. Optical factors of the eye ...

'',

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

, and in an

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

documentary, ''Criminal'' "Punks vs Preps". A 2005 episode of the A&E documentary series ''

City Confidential ''City Confidential'' is an American documentary television show, originally airing on the A&E Network, that singles out a community during each episode and investigates a crime that has occurred there. Rather than being a straightforward proced ...

'' episode renewed interest in the case. In 2000, musician

Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He is the lead singer and the only original member remaining of the Marilyn Manson (band), same-titled band he founded in 1989. Th ...

discussed the Deneke case at the

Disinfo Disinformation is misleading content deliberately spread to deceive people, or to secure economic or political gain and which may cause public harm. Disinformation is an orchestrated adversarial activity in which actors employ strategic decept ...

conference while addressing the issue of the causes of youth violence. The conflict between jocks and punks in Amarillo has been compared to the widespread social divisions in

Columbine High School Columbine High School (CHS) is a public high school in Columbine, Colorado, United States, in the Denver metropolitan area. It is part of the Jefferson County Public Schools district. In 1999, it became the scene of an infamous mass shooti ...

which have been said to have contributed to the

Columbine High School massacre A school shooting and attempted bombing occurred on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado, United States. The perpetrators, twelfth-grade students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, murdered 13 students and one teach ...

. The Deneke case has also been referred to briefly in an academic article arguing the case for expanding the definitions of bias crime beyond the usual boundaries of religious, sexual and racial groups, to other social groupings.

Tributes to Brian Deneke

Concerts

Numerous tribute gigs and concerts have been made for Deneke since his death. In 2000, ''The Unity Through Diversity festival'' was held in Amarillo featuring

The Undead The Undead is an American horror punk band formed in 1980 in New York City's East Village by Bobby Steele (vocals and guitar), Chris "Jack" Natz (bass) and Patrick Blanck (drums). They were one of the pioneers in the New York hardcore scene. ...

and

Mike Watt Michael David Watt (born December 20, 1957) is an American bassist, vocalist and songwriter. He co-founded and played bass guitar for the rock bands Minutemen (1980–1985), Dos (1985–present), and Firehose (1986–1994). He began a solo ca ...

, amongst other bands. The tenth anniversary of his death demonstrated the ongoing significance of his death to the punk community with 25 concerts being held on December 8, 2007, across the United States and Canada, including concerts in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

and five concerts across Texas including a two-day event in Amarillo. Half of the money raised by these events went to ''National Organization for Parents of Murdered Children'', the other half to various anti prejudice causes.

Songs

Deneke's death has been the subject of a number of songs, including: *"Brian's Song" by Fifteen *"Brian's Song" by The Code *"Tears On A Pillow (in Amarillo)" by

*"Fortunes of War" by

Dropkick Murphys Dropkick Murphys are an American Celtic punk band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. The current lineup consists of co-lead vocalist and bassist Ken Casey, drummer Matt Kelly, co-lead vocalist Al Barr (on hiatus from the band since 202 ...

*"Sunshine Fist Magnet" by

Against All Authority Against All Authority (often abbreviated AAA) is an American punk rock band known for their political leanings and, previously, as a ska punk band. Their business practice follows a stringent DIY ethic. History Against All Authority was founded ...

*"A Punk Killed" and "Murdered" by

Total Chaos Total Chaos is an American hardcore punk band from Pomona, California, formed in 1989. Lead vocalist Rob Chaos is also co-owner of SOS Records with Ezzat Soliman, owner of the Showcase Theater, having released albums by classic punk and Oi! ba ...

*"American Justice Is All a Lie" by Career Soldiers *"Sunshine" by

The Swellers The Swellers were an American punk band from Flint, Michigan. Their music is influenced by melodic punk rock, as well as alternative and indie rock bands, from the 1990s. They disbanded in 2015. Band history On June 24, 2002, brothers Nick a ...

*"Self defense of a third person" by Downfall 2012 *"Hail" by

Hamell on Trial Edward James "Ed" Hamell, performing as Hamell on Trial, is an American punk rock, anti-folk, spoken word musician, described by Righteous Babe Records as "loud, fast music informed by politics, passion, energy and intelligence, played by a guy w ...

*"Brian Deneke" by Christopher Owens *"Punk Song" by LambBed

Drama

A play about the Deneke case, ''Manslaughtered'', by David Bucci, was performed at the Annex Theatre, Seattle in 2000.

Film

A film about Brian Deneke's short life has been made called ''

Bomb City ''Bomb City'' is a 2017 American crime film directed by Jameson Brooks, co-written by Jameson Brooks and Sheldon R. Chick, and starring Dave Davis. The film is based on the death of Brian Deneke, the homicide that revealed the cultural clash bet ...

'', named after Amarillo's nickname as a nuclear weapons disassembly site.

References

* *

Bibliography

Mikita Brottman Mikita Brottman is a British American non-fiction author, scholar, and psychoanalyst known for her interest in true crime. Her writing blends a number of genres, often incorporating elements of autobiography, psychoanalysis, forensic psychology, ...

(ed), ''Car Crash Culture'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2002), 254-6 *Jeff Ferrell, ''Tearing Down the Streets: Adventures in Urban Anarchy'' (Palgrave Macmillan 2001) *''Texas Monthly on True Crime'' (University of Texas Press, 2007) p. 19-38 * "Death In Texas(the story of Brian Deneke)" PUNK PLANET 36

Filmography

*Bomb City Fil
3rd IdentityBomb City
*MTV: ''Criminal: Punks vs. Preps'' (CBS News Productions, 2000) *City Confidential - ''Amarillo, TX: High School Hit & Run'' Episode Number: 128 Season Num: 11 First Aired: Saturday July 9, 2005

External links

*ABC News (United States), ABC NEWS
Bomb City wraps up filming in AmarilloParents of Murdered Children
the charity officially supported by the Deneke famil

founded by mother of punk rock star Sid Vicious's girlfriend Nancy Spungen; Deborah Spungen
Official Brian Deneke memorial
on

MySpace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...

run by a supporter for Mike and Betty Deneke and the rest of the family ''(additional )''
brian denekes death and the defamation of punks in general
chat group on

Yahoo! Groups Yahoo! Groups was a free-to-use system of Electronic mailing list, electronic mailing lists offered by Yahoo!. Prior to February 2020, Yahoo! Groups was one of the world's largest collections of online discussion boards. It allowed members to s ...

Brian Deneke Memorial WebRing
on

WebRing A webring (or web ring) is a collection of websites linked together in a circular structure, usually organized around a specific theme, and often educational or social. They were popular in the 1990s and early 2000s, particularly among amateur we ...

.com, founded by Bri Cors of badgebrigad
BRIAN DENEKE - 1978-1997
https://web.archive.org/web/20021128022258/http://www.badgebrigade.com/ BADGEBRIGADE - www.badgebrigade.com - Custom-Made 1" Buttons/Pins/Badge
BADGEBRIGADE - www.badgebrigade.com - Custom-Made 1" Buttons/Pins/Badges
''(no
nerdtech.com
'' * * by the Deneke family and Lesley and Lillian Pauline Hine,

The Long Now Foundation ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

2008-07-14 ** * memorial by friend Kaade Roberts (site set up before the official site) ** * b
anokchan.com
,

2001-03-05 *, Pamela Colloff for ''

Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. Founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, ''Texas Monthly'' chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the Natura ...

'', November 1999 (The author was awarded the ''Magazine and Specialty Publication Achievement Award'' in the ''Headliners Foundation'' ''Charles E. Green Journalism Contest'' for this stor

archive via the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

2000-02-22
"Anarchy in Amarillo"
Julie Lyons for ''

Dallas Observer ''Dallas Observer'' is a free digital and print publication based in Dallas, Texas. The ''Observer'' publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music, and arts, as well as longform narrative journalism. A weekly print issue circ ...

'', 1999-10-21
"Punks, Jocks and Justice"
, Julie Lyons for the ''

Houston Press The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown Houston, Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017. The publication is supported entirely ...

'', 1999-10-21 * fro
Griefnet.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deneke, Brian People from Amarillo, Texas American skateboarders Punk people 1997 in Texas Deaths by person in Texas 1978 births 1997 deaths December 1997 in the United States Pedestrian road incident deaths