3 Get Reduced Sentences in Cross-Burning Outside Home

To the outrage of the interracial family they victimized, three men received reduced sentences Tuesday after pleading no contest to the the charge of throwing a burning cross with the intent to terrorize.

Daniel Claxton, 21, Justin Berkowitz, 19, and Christopher Fraley, also 19, were sentenced to 60 days in jail and three years’ probation for putting a 6-foot wooden cross in the Shadow Hills family’s driveway, setting it on fire and shouting a racial epithet. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Ronald S. Coen also ordered each to complete six weeks of a “tolerance education” program and pay $200 restitution.

Had the men been found guilty of the hate crime by a jury, each would have faced a maximum of seven years in state prison.

“We’re really upset with the way things turned out. We don’t think the courts or the district attorney’s office took this seriously,” said Steven Russell, on whose driveway the cross was burned.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Jacquelyn Lacey said the sentence “is really appropriate for this kind of case.” The defendants seemed remorseful and had no criminal records, she said.

“They are young, and they did a stupid, cruel thing,” Lacey said. “There is hope that they’ll learn from this incident.”

Though the defendants pleaded guilty to a felony, after their probationary period they may apply to have their convictions reduced to misdemeanors.

At his home, Russell called the sentences a “slap on the hand.”

Russell, 51, a Cuban African American, and his wife, Tracey, 41, an Italian American, are considering moving, he said.

“My wife doesn’t feel comfortable or safe here” since the Nov. 18 incident, Russell said. As a supervisor for a company that stages trade shows, Russell travels around the country, and he said he feels nervous about leaving his wife and their 10-year-old son.

In court Tuesday, defense attorneys asked that the three men receive credit for the days when they performed community service, were electronically monitored or were under house arrest when the case against them was pending. Coen refused.

After the hearing, Claxton, of Glendale, and Berkowitz, of Arleta, surrendered to deputies to begin serving their sentences.

“The boys are really sorry for what they did,” said Berkowitz’s father, Edward. “It wasn’t an intentional type of crime.”

Fraley, of Encino, left the courtroom with his lawyer, who is contesting the judge’s refusal to give him more credit.

“I wish I was never part of this,” Fraley said.

In letters of apology, Fraley and Berkowitz expressed regret.

“It was a very stupid and immature thing to do. We were not thinking at the time of anyone’s feelings,” Berkowitz wrote.

But Steven Russell said, “Anyone’s going to be sorry after they’re caught.”

The youths were caught after a $21,000 reward was offered. The police received a tip, which led to a witness who had heard them brag about the incident, Lacey said.

Police say the incident might have been sparked by a dispute one of the youths had with the Russells’ older son, Derick, 19, over a bicycle.

The Russells “are grateful to the community for their help and support,” said their attorney, Leslie R. Smith. But, she added, “they don’t believe justice has been served in the case. They’ve been through extraordinary distress as a result of the criminal conduct.”

Tracey Russell said the sentence “sends a message that these crimes of racism aren’t taken seriously.”

“When they lynch ‘em, that’s when we’ll take them seriously,” Tracey Russell said. “Our judicial system failed the victims once again.”