BEMIDJI, Minn., Oct. 2 (UPI) -- A young northern Minnesota man was given a jail term for setting up a burning cross in the yard of a white woman with two mixed-race daughters.
A judge imposed a 21-month sentence Monday on Derek Daniel Barnes, 20, of Bemidji, the Bemidji Pioneer reported. But the judge stayed most of the sentence for five years, ordering Barnes to spend 177 days in jail with credit for 118 days of detention while he was awaiting trial.
Barnes must meet stringent conditions, including paying a $1,000 fine and undergoing a drug and alcohol assessment. He was also ordered to stay out of bars.
Charged with felony stalking, Barnes pleaded guilty in August. He admitted putting the cross together and then, with the help of a friend, setting it up in the yard of a house in Northern Township and setting it alight.
The house was occupied by a woman who had two adult mixed-race daughters. The family has since moved.
Charges are still pending against Ryan Fairbanks Andree, 19.
