BY CHRISTINE WOLFF
The Cincinnati Enquirer
NEWTONSVILLE -- Two Clermont County men face federal charges in a February cross-burning that police say was meant to taunt a white woman and her black male friend.
The symbol of what federal authorities call a hate crime flared in this tiny Clermont County village about 1 a.m. Feb. 22 at Cross and Main streets. A conviction could put the men in federal prison for 10-30 years.
Newtonsville is about 15 miles east of Interstate 275, on Ohio 131 in Clermont County.
The men are William Steven "Duke" Bonham II, 26, of Goshen and Eugene Michael Coogan Jr., 21, of Newtonsville.
Federal authorities say Mr. Bonham built the wooden cross and the two men carried it to the intersection in front of the apartment of Christa Schmurr. Mr. Bonham poured a flammable liquid on it, and both men lit the cross, authorities claim.
Police think the two men -- who know the woman and her family -- acted alone and have ruled out involvement by organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan, said Clermont County Sheriff A.J. "Tim" Rodenberg. "The two individuals, among others in the area, had expressed dissatisfaction with this relationship," Sheriff Rodenberg said.
Carolyn Schmurr, Christa's mother, said Monday that having the cross-burning linked to people they knew well was hard to take. "We'd have been better off if it had been someone we didn't know," she said. "I loved those boys. It hurts."
Convictions on the federal charges could result in harsher punishment than what the men might have received if found guilty under state law, Sheriff Rodenberg said.
"I hope (this) will send out a strong message," he said.
FBI agents arrested Mr. Bonham Monday in Sharonville. Federal Magistrate Judge Jack Sherman Jr. released Mr. Bonham Monday afternoon on the condition he post a $15,000 surety bond within 24 hours.
Mr. Bonham faces federal charges of conspiracy to violate rights, intimidation through the burning of a cross and the use of fire in the commission of a federal felony. He could receive up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each of the first two counts. The third carries a mandatory sentence of 10 years in prison without probation or parole, said Sharon Zealey, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Ohio.
Mr. Coogan has agreed to plead guilty to a charge of conspiracy to violate rights, Ms. Zealey said.
Mr. Coogan had not entered the plea Monday.
Mayor Robert Ritter said he would not comment until after the case is settled.
