Source:
Associated Press2 plead guilty in firebombing of Ark couple's home
Published 09:45 p.m., Tuesday, May 10, 2011
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Two men accused of participating in the firebombing of an interracial couple's house pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy against rights and criminal violation of housing rights, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
As part of their plea, Dustin Hammond, 20, and Jake Murphy, 19, admitted they and two other men devised a plan during a party on Jan. 14 to firebomb the home of a black man and a white woman in Hardy, prosecutors said. According to court documents, they had been talking about a black man who said something inappropriate about one of the men's girlfriends.
Murphy grabbed beer bottles and rags from Barnwell's house and the four piled into a vehicle, with Dodson behind the wheel, prosecutors allege in court filings. They stopped to get gas, which all but Dodson later used to make Molotov cocktails. They drove on to the married couple's home and Murphy lobbed at least one Molotov cocktail at the trailer, according to the indictment.
A bottle sailed through a window and part of the home caught on fire. The couple wasn't injured, but prosecutors said there was some damage to their home.
Read more:
http://www.ctpost.com/default/article/2-plead-guilty-in-firebombing-of-Ark-couple-s-home-1374554.php
Earlier story:
Men plead not guilty to Region 8 race crime charge
Posted: Apr 07, 2011 5:07 PM CDT
Updated: Apr 28, 2011 3:23 PM CDT
WASHINGTON, D.C. (KAIT) – A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted four men and a woman from Sharp County, Arkansas.
According to the Department of Justice, the five were indicted on charges stemming from the fire-bombing of an interracial couple's home in Hardy, Arkansas.
Charged are 37-year-old Jason Barnwell of Evening Shade, 32-year-old Gary Dodson and 19-year-old Jake Murphy of Waldron and 20-year-old Dustin Hammond of Hardy.
They're accused of lobbing Molotov cocktails into the home of a mixed race couple in January. According to the court documents, the couple was also barraged with racial slurs and threatened with more violence if they did not leave.
More:
http://www.kait8.com/story/14406066/men-plead-not-guilty-to-region-8-race-crime-charge?clienttype=printableImages of the other two defendants:
http://kait.images.worldnow.com.nyud.net:8090/images/14406066_BG1.jpg http://kait.images.worldnow.com.nyud.net:8090/images/14406066_BG2.jpg
Gary Dodson, Jason Barnwell