Teen Accused of Brutal Houston Attack Says Drugs Made Him Do It

May 3, 2006 — -- An attack on a Hispanic teen in Houston several weeks ago shocked the nation for its brutality. Now one of the accused attackers, 18-year-old David Henry Tuck, said the drugs he took that night made him do it.

Tuck and his friend, 17-year-old Keith Turner, are accused of beating and sodomizing a 16-year-old teen while shouting racial slurs, authorities said, all for trying to kiss a 12-year-old girl at a house party.

From behind bars, Tuck spoke exclusively with ABC News affiliate KTRK-TV in Houston, about the night of the attack. Turner has refused to speak with the media.

Sitting in the Harris County Jail, Tuck said he is remorseful about the attack and concerned about his family. "I'm sitting here crying, worried about my mother, that she's going to be harmed," he said.

Tuck said that by the time he and his friends arrived at the house, he was drunk from vodka and high from Xanax, cocaine and marijuana. He had heard the 12-year-old girl had been raped, not just kissed. So he and Turner attacked.

"When you tell people who are on drugs something like that [the rape], you're going to fight," said Tuck. "Xanax to me is like a demon. It takes control of me."

Authorities say Tuck and Turner dragged the Hispanic teen outside to the backyard, kicked him in the head with steel-toed boots and sodomized him with a plastic pipe. One of the attackers also tried to carve something in the victim's chest but was stopped by a witness, said police.

The victim also had cigarette burns on his body and had bleach poured on him, officials said. He remains in the hospital in critical condition.

Tuck says he blacked out after the attack, but he contends the 12-year-old girl is responsible for sodomizing the victim.

Activists want the attack classified as a hate crime. Tuck and Turner are accused of hurling racial slurs during the beating and neighbors claim swastika flags have flown at Tuck's home.

But Tuck said he's given up his old life as a neo-Nazi. Now he says he doesn't hate anyone.

"I just respect who respects me," said Tuck. "The only time I'm against someone is when they screw me over or my family."

Tuck and Turner each face aggravated sexual assault charges. They're being held without bond in the Harris County Jail. Their next court appearance is set for May 31.

This story was originally reported by Jessica Willey of ABC News' Houston affiliate KTRK-TV.