THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 29, 1996 TAG: 9603290526
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: PULASKI LENGTH: Short : 29 lines
Two 17-year-old boys have been charged with burning a cross in a black family's front yard and throwing a rock through their window, Pulaski County authorities said Thursday.
The teens are both charged with cross burning and rock throwing, both felonies, and with entering private property with intent to destroy, a misdemeanor, said Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Mike Costanza.
George and Chanie Trueheart discovered the burning cross Saturday night after returning home from an outing. Sheriff's deputies arrested the boys about a quarter-mile away.
``We've been here 23 years and nothing like this has ever happened before,'' Chanie Trueheart said.
Sheriff's officials said the incident was racially motivated.
The boys, who were not identified because of their age, were being held in juvenile detention, Costanza said. A trial date is scheduled for May 17. by CNB