Two held in gravesite desecrationAssociated Press
BEAUMONT -- Jasper police planned to charge two white teenagers with criminal mischief Tuesday in last week's desecration of James Byrd Jr.'s grave.
Byrd is the black man who was dragged to his death behind a pickup truck by three white men in 1998. Racial slurs and profanities were etched into a steel plate covering part of the vault of Byrd's grave. His headstone also was knocked over.
Several tips led police to a 19-year-old man from Jasper and an 18-year-old man from Call on Monday afternoon, police chief Stanley Christopher said Tuesday.
Christopher said the 19-year-old was arrested at his home, while the younger man surrendered at the police station. Both men have admitted vandalizing Byrd's grave and pushing over tombstones on the graves of two white people.
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