Criminal Interference With Another's Housing Rights Among Charges Landing Perpetrator 15-Year Jail Stay For Firebombing Interracial Couple's Residence

From the U.S. Department of Justice:

• The Department of Justice announced [] that Gary Dodson, 33, of Waldron, Ark., was sentenced in Little Rock for his involvement in firebombing the residence of an interracial couple.



• On Dec. 7, 2011, Dodson pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the civil rights, criminal interference with housing rights due to race and possession of an unregistered firearm/destructive device. District Judge Billy Roy Wilson sentenced Dodson to 15 years in prison and 3 years of supervised release for the three counts of conviction.



• During his plea, Dodson admitted that on the night of Jan. 14, 2011, he attended a party where he and three other men, Jake Murphy, Dustin Hammond and Jason Barnwell, devised a plan to firebomb the victims’ house. Dodson then drove the other men to purchase gas for the firebomb and then Dodson drove everyone to the victims’ house in Hardy, Ark. When they arrived, Barnwell, Murphy and Hammond constructed three Molotov cocktails and threw them at the house. They damaged the victims’ house; however, no one was injured.



• Murphy and Hammond previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to and violating the civil rights of the victim. Both received sentences of 54 months incarceration and three years of supervised release.



• In June 2011, Wendy Treybig, who co-hosted the party on Jan. 14, 2011, with Barnwell, pleaded guilty to obstructing justice. She was sentenced on Dec. 13, 2011, to 21 months incarceration and three years of supervised release. Jason Barnwell pleaded guilty on Aug. 26, 2011, and was sentenced on Jan. 27, 2012 to 20 years incarceration.

For the DOJ press release, see Arkansas Man Sentenced for His Role in Firebombing Residence of Interracial Couple.