- Racist Killers in NY -

[-Outlaw Frog Raper-]

A couple of kids from the neighborhood decided to go hunting for a
black person. Any black person.

These are my neighbors.

They figured they would help "cleanse" society.

Just like they learn from you pig bastards.

=====================================

Police say two whites targeted black person with rifle in
Albany

By BRIAN NEARING
Gazette Reporter

ALBANY - William Hines and Rudolf Berry wanted to shoot a black person
- any black person -
when they drove up a darkened Arbor Hill street early Wednesday,
police said.

It was just random chance as Berry pointed a 9mm carbine at Sonya
Thompson and fired once,
hitting her in the neck, according to police.

As Thompson fell to the sidewalk, Hines, who was driving his red 1991
Ford Mustang, took off,
police said. But officers caught the pair almost immediately, and
found the rifle still inside their car.

Thompson, 38, was in fair condition at Albany Medical Center Hospital
late Wednesday.

Calling the shooting a hate crime, police charged Hines and Berry with
attempted murder, assault
and weapons possession. Thompson is black, while the two suspects are
white. Both men are 20
years old.

Police spokesman Fred Alberti said the two men "made some admission"
about wanting to shoot a
black person, but he declined to be specific. "This is a very uncommon
situation. I can't recall the
last time we had something like that happen around here," he said.

There was no evidence that the men belonged to any white supremacist
groups, he added.

Police said the attack took place on Second Street near Swan Street in
the Arbor Hill
neighborhood at about 4:18 a.m. Hines and Berry had come in Hines' car
from their residence to
find someone black to shoot, Alberti said.

"It was a racial thing. They were looking for the first black person
they could find to shoot," said a
police source close to the case. "[Thompson] was just walking down the
street."

The source said the two men chose Albany rather than Schenectady
because they didn't think they
would be recognized in Albany.

The rifle, a 9mm semiautomatic carbine made by Hi-Point, was purchased
by Hines about a year
ago from a sporting goods store in Rotterdam, the source added.

After the shooting, police were able to get a description of the
assailants and the vehicle from
Thompson, who was conscious, Alberti said. The arrests were made at
about 4:30 a.m.

"Why would anyone want to shoot Sonya," asked one man in his 40s, who
said he lives in the
neighborhood. "She's a haircut girl who works at the barbershop." The
man, who declined to give
his name, said he hoped the shooting didn't spark a counterstrike by
"people from here going up
there. . . . We don't need a race war."

Thompson, who lives at 101 Orange St., Albany, and her parents,
declined an interview request
placed through hospital officials.

Neighbors amazed
Hines and Berry lived as teen-agers practically across the street from
each other for years on Ford
Avenue, a quiet lane off Princetown Road in suburban Rotterdam. The
street has small, neatly kept
homes. It is predominantly white; its residents include children and
retirees. Couples strolled past on
walks Wednesday evening in the unusually mild weather.

Nobody answered the door at the Hines home when reporters knocked
Wednesday evening.

Hines' father, Paul Hines, works as a corrections officer at the
Schenectady County Jail.

Neighbors recalled William Hines as polite. "I can't believe this,"
one said. "I like the guy. He's a
great kid. I'm stunned."

Down the street, a neighbor of Berry's said he knew and liked both
men, who were sometimes
together. "They seemed like nice kids. So I was real surprised when I
saw it on TV," he said. He
added: "Especially a crime like that; I can't understand that."

William Hines' lawyer, Gaspar Castillo, said his client is not a
bigot. "He and his family have very
close relations with people who are black . . . this is so
inconsistent with his life."

Asked about the shooting, Castillo said it was an "intention to scare
someone, to make someone
jump . . . it was a prank that went to extreme measures."

Hines is "very remorseful. He is very sorry that this woman got
injured," said Castillo. "The first thing
he asked me was if the lady was OK."

Hines has worked as a stock clerk at Boscia's liquor store on Broadway
in Rotterdam for a little
over a year. Nick Boscia described Hines as an industrious, reliable
employee who never showed a
hint of any violent tendency.

"We were all shocked like everybody else. He never did anything that
would make you think he
would hurt even a fly," Boscia said.

Hines' only past brush with the law was a trespassing arrest that
stemmed from an incident at
Rotterdam Square mall. He was also once reported missing by his
parents, but the case was later
resolved.

Schalmont High School Principal Michael Kondratowicz said he believed
both suspects had
attended Schalmont. The principal believed Berry graduated two years
ago. Hines also attended;
Kondratowicz was uncertain if he had graduated.

Both Hines and Berry, who were in Albany County Jail without bail late
Wednesday, declined a
request for an interview with The Daily Gazette.

Hate crimes
The shooting reinforces the need for a state law to increase penalties
for people convicted of hate
crimes, said Anne Pope, president of the local chapter of the National
Association for the
Advancement of Colored People. The law has languished for most of this
decade because of
opposition in the state Senate, said Pope.

"There is also a need for training in schools, churches and homes on
tolerance and an effort to stamp
out prejudice," she said. "People have to know that we are not
animals."

Both suspects were arraigned before Albany City Court Judge Stephen
Herrick on charges
including attempted murder, assault and weapons possession. They were
sent to the county jail
without bail and are scheduled to reappear in court Monday.

The suspects gave their address to police as 152 Horstman Drive,
Glenville. But Alberti said that
address might not be current.

That neighborhood too is predominantly white and suburban, with mostly
owner-occupied homes.
Neighbors, including those next door, said they didn't know the pair.

"We haven't seen too much of whoever's living there," said Daniel
Murphy, who lived across the
street. Occasionally, he saw a red Mustang parked at the house, he
said.

Police reports also gave conflicting accounts of where the arrests
occurred; one report indicated
Livingston Avenue near North Swan Street, while the other indicated
Clinton Avenue and North
Lake Avenue. Alberti could not resolve the discrepancy.
Reposting and/or crossposting this article would
help a great deal. The spam police have overstepped
their purpose. This is not spam. They only wish to
silence me. Thank you, - OFR -