A white man who threatened to shoot a black teenager for riding his bike in front of his property received three years of probation and was also ordered to attend either anger management or diversity-sensitivity training.
According to The Oregonian, Michael James Black, 65, was sentenced on February 27 after he was found guilty of menacing and second-degree intimidation, an offence also considered a hate crime.
The incident occurred when the 14-year-old teenager, who was on his way home from school after basketball practice rode in front of Black’s house in Gresham, Oregon, while he was waiting for two other friends to catch up with him. Black, who was sitting in his garage when he spotted the boy allegedly hurled out racial slurs at him after telling him he was on his property, prosecutors said, according to The Oregonian.
He also threatened to blow the boy’s head off when he paid no heed to him. Fearing Black was going for a gun when he entered his house, the teenager rode off.
According to the DA’s Office and a probable cause affidavit, the teenager was unaware the cul-de-sac he was riding around was private. The police who responded also reported that though the cul-de-sac had two “no trespassing” signs, “they were not visible from the street.”
Black, who apologized to the teen’s mother during his sentencing hearing, was also ordered to write an apology letter to the boy and complete 150 hours of community service. He has also been prohibited from possessing weapons.
Black’s hostility towards the boys, according to Deputy District Attorney BJ Park, was “simply because they walked by his house and he didn’t like that and because of the victim’s race,” The Oregonian further reports.
“This crime occurred because of the prejudicial and racist assumptions Mr. Black made because of the victim’s race,” Park added.
