6th Guilty Plea in 1969 Race Riot Killing
YORK, Pa. — A sixth defendant pleaded guilty to lesser charges Thursday in the killing of a young black woman during the city’s 1969 race riots.
Four other men remain charged with murder in connection with the shooting of 27-year-old Lille Belle Allen, including former York Mayor Charlie Robertson, who was a police officer at the time.
Robertson, who is accused of handing out ammunition and encouraging white gang members to shoot blacks, is scheduled to go to trial Sept. 23 with two other defendants.
On Thursday, Arthur Messer- smith pleaded guilty to attempted murder and conspiracy, admitting in court that he fired a 12-gauge shotgun at the car Allen was riding in when it entered a white neighborhood.
Speaking softly, Messersmith said white gang members in the area had been fired upon the night before, and they were scared when they saw the Cadillac pull into an intersection and stop.
“We thought we were going to be shot at, so we shot at it,†he said.
Messersmith could face up to nine years in prison. Murder charges were withdrawn in exchange for his plea.
The last of the 10 defendants, Ezra Slick, has admitted shooting at the car, according to police, and has waived his preliminary hearing to determine whether enough evidence exists for a trial.
If the judge accepts the six plea agreements, each would face up to two years in prison instead of the mandatory life sentence a murder conviction would bring.
Two of them admitted being lookouts for the white gang members who had gathered on Newberry Street on July 21, 1969, the day Allen was killed. The others admitted shooting at the white Cadillac carrying Allen and her sister, parents and brother-in-law.
After Thursday’s hearing, Messersmith apologized to the sister, Hattie Dickson. She said later that she believed the apology was heartfelt: “When I shook his hand, I felt it. I felt the sorrow.â€
More than 60 people were injured during the 10-day race riots and 100 people were arrested before the National Guard rolled into town with tanks. Violence between white and black youths sparked the riots.
On July 18, the second day of the riots, a white police officer, Henry Schaad, was fatally shot while patrolling a black neighborhood.
Two black men charged with his death are awaiting trial.
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