Port Richey Cross Burning Sentences Handed Down

PORT RICHEY, FL — A cross set ablaze in an interracial Port Richey couple’s front yard back in 2012 has led to prison terms for three of the four men involved in the case. U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven handed down sentencing Tuesday following guilty pleas entered by Thomas Herris Sigler III, 46, and William A. Dennis, 56.

Sigler was sentenced on Aug. 29, 2017, to serve 33 months while Dennis will serve 21 months. Both men pleaded guilty to civil rights violations in connection with a series of attacks on the couple, which culminated with the Oct. 31, 2012, cross burning. A third co-defendant, Pascual Carlos Pietri, also pleaded guilty to the same charges last year. He was sentenced to serve 37 months on March 23, 2016.

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The case against the men began to unfold when the interracial couple moved in next to Dennis and Sigler, according to a statement issued by the U.S. Department of Justice on Aug. 29.

“Sigler and Dennis began regularly harassing the African-American male neighbor shortly after the couple moved in with racial slurs and derogatory statements,” the statement said. “Then in mid-October 2012, Sigler physically attacked the African-American neighbor, while Dennis looked on and prevented another neighbor from intervening.”

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On Halloween 2012, Sigler and Dennis attended a party at the house of an unnamed fourth co-conspirator. It was there, the justice department said, the plan was hatched to use a cross burning to scare the couple into moving. During the party, Sigler and Dennis created a wooden cross from items provided by the fourth person. Dennis and Pietri carried the cross to the couple’s yard, leaned it on the mailbox and set it ablaze, the justice department said.

“Acts of intimidation and violence perpetrated against people because of their race, ethnicity, color, or creed are reprehensible,” acting U.S. Attorney Stephen Muldrow said in a Tuesday statement. “Individuals and families should have the right to live wherever they choose, without fear. Acts of hatred such as this simply cannot be tolerated and we will investigate and prosecute those who commit these crimes.”

The fourth person involved has since died, the state department said.

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