A woman involved in what investigators called a hate crime hoax targeting then-mayoral candidate Yemi Mobolade has been sentenced to three years of probation.
Deanna West was the only suspect in the case to plead guilty and received her sentence, along with a $100 fine. She testified against the two other defendants, Derrick Bernard Jr. and Ashley Blackcloud, during a trial in May.
The trio was accused of staging a video of a burning cross in front of one of Mobolade's campaign signs ahead of the 2023 mayoral runoff election. Watch our previous coverage in the video player below.
A jury found Bernard and Blackcloud guilty of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and conveying false information about a threat using fire. Blackcloud is scheduled for a sentencing hearing in November.
The Gazette's Mackenzie Bodell helped contribute to this report.
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One man is on a mission to find a permanent home for a wind phone to honor his mother
Derrick Johnson says he is on a mission. He wants to find a permanent home in Colorado Springs for a wind phone to honor his mother, Ellen Lopes. She is one of the identified victims in the Return to Nature Funeral Home case.
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