Camp was later found guilty of voluntary vehicular manslaughter and sentenced to ten years' probation and a $10,000 fine, which was later dropped.
The homicide and the outcome of the trial against Camp galvanized the punk community and raised accusations about the social tolerance of the Texan city.
Deneke was an artist for Stanley Marsh 3's art project, Dynamite Museum, which consisted of handmade mock road signs scattered across Amarillo city streets.
[3] Like other punks in Amarillo, Deneke had suffered frequent harassment and bullying, and acquired nicknames such as "Punch" and "Fist Magnet" by tormentors.
[2] The International House of Pancakes across the street from the Western Plaza Shopping Center was a popular hangout for youths in Amarillo, Texas.
[2] 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.
[4] 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.
Camp's defense attorney, Warren L. Clark, defended by trying to shift the blame on Deneke and the punk community.
[5] 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.
[2] Although Camp had been charged with murder, the jury only found him guilty of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced him to ten years' probation and a $10,000 fine.
He served one year of probation for providing alcohol to minors and hindering police efforts to arrest Dustin Camp.
[2] The lenient sentence for Camp caused a public outcry in Amarillo and incited a debate on whether the city was a tolerant place.
[8] National television and radio paid attention to the case in 1999 and 2000 being featured on Leeza, Dateline NBC, 20/20,[12][13] NPR,[14][15] and in an MTV documentary, Criminal "Punks vs Preps".
[citation needed] In 2000, musician Marilyn Manson discussed the Deneke case at the Disinfo conference while addressing the issue of the causes of youth violence.
[25] A film about Brian Deneke's short life has been made called Bomb City, named after Amarillo's nickname as a nuclear weapons disassembly site.