MAN SENTENCED FOR CORSS BURNING

A Sikeston, Mo., man was sentenced to 16 months in prison this week on charges of racial intimidation after he burned a cross in front of a black family's home Nov. 3.

In May, Justin Scapino, 23, pleaded guilty to his role in burning the cross. Scapino, who has been in jail since his arrest last November, faced a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and a $250,000 fine by U. S. District Judge E. Richard Webber.

On Nov. 3 at about 1 a.m., George Austin of 216 Harry in Sikeston saw an 8-foot-high wooden cross burning in the front yard of the residence he shares with his mother and sister, Stephanie Porter.

Austin and Porter immediately fled the residence and ran to a pay phone to call police. Both fire and police personnel from the Sikeston Department of Public Safety arrived and extinguished the flames. Austin and Porter are African-Americans.

Footprints followed

Police were able to follow footprints to the nearby residence of 17-year-old Thomas Lehmann where they found gasoline, hammers, nails and wood similar to that used to construct the cross.

A search of Lehmann's residence revealed white supremacist regalia. Authorities also found Lehmann had accessed Klu Klux Klan Web sites on his computer on numerous occasions. A book was found listing more than 4,000 white supremacist Web sites.

Lehmann told police Scapino was also involved in the cross burning and that he and Scapino built the cross because they didn't like black people.

Lehmann pleaded guilty in state court to his role in the incident. Because of his age, Scapino was tried in federal court.

Scapino initially admitted to investigators that he and Lehmann had planned the cross burning for about a week. He told investigators that he and Lehmann had accessed the Web site for KKK information prior to the burning.

Scapino admitted he had provided Lehmann with the nails to construct the cross, blocks to hold the cross while it burned and matches to light the cross.