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Three plead guilty in Independence hate crime

Three people have now pleaded guilty to hate crimes involving the torching of a bi-racial man’s mobile home in Independence.

Charles Wilhelm and David Martin, both 23, pleaded in U.S. District Court to conspiracy to violate civil rights and to violation of the Fair Housing Act, prosecutors announced Thursday.

A federal investigation found that the men, and a third defendant, wanted to scare and intimidate the victim so he would move out of the Highland Manor mobile home park in Independence in 2006.

The men and Teresa Witthar entered the victim’s home in June of that year and wrote at least 15 racially derogatory messages and slurs and drew swastikas on the walls. Two days later, Witthar drove the men to the mobile home and the men set it on fire.

Witthar, 43, pleaded guilty in February to the rights charges as well as obstruction of justice. She admitted that she had a romantic relationship with the victim and, when he ended it, she joined Wilhelm and Martin — friends of her son — in a plan to intimidate the victim.

When Witthar became aware of a federal investigation into the incidents, she tried to get another of her son’s friends to lie and blame the fire entirely on Wilhelm because he had a criminal record and was in jail at the time.

“The Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that all Americans are able to occupy their homes without fear of racially-motivated reprisals,” said Thomas E. Perez, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division. “As this case illustrates, the Civil Rights Division will aggressively prosecute anyone who attacks and destroys a home based on the race of the person who lives there.”

Sentencing dates have not been scheduled. Conspiracy to violate civil rights and violation of the housing act each carry a maximum of 10 years in prison. Obstruction carries a maximum of 20 years.

http://www.kansascity.com/2012/03/08...ependence.html