Update: No charges in Hammond cross burning incident

Just a quick post to let you know the outcome of a story I wrote about here in June: A man in the St. Lawrence County town of

Hammond, NY, where the crime is alleged to have taken place. Image: maps.google.com

Hammond who was arrested at that time on felony aggravated harassment charges won’t be facing any charges.

Here’s the nutshell recap, taken from that post:

Back in late April…Nigel Spahr, who is black, was visiting a friend with fiancee and their two young children, and they were having a campfire. Apparently Wilson wanted to join, and when Spahr and his friend said no, he reportedly told the group that “he was going to get a noose to hang the black guy.” (That’s according to Dan Snyder, who’s the landlord for the house Spahr was visiting; the friend hasn’t been identified.)

Afterwards, YNN reports, Wilson returned to his property, and shortly thereafter burned the cross. Spahr told YNN, “I didn’t believe it at first. I went over and looked out the side door and peeked out and sure enough, there was a burning cross.”

Now, WWNY-TV is reporting (complete with a picture that’s really too amusing for the serious nature of what allegedly went on) that after an appearance before a grand jury on August 8, Wilson won’t face any charges: Rather, a “no bill” was issued against him, which means the jury refused to indict on the charges, apparently on the basis that there wasn’t enough evidence presented.