Date: Fri, 14 Oct 1994 09:26:44 -0500 (GMT-0500) From: "Thomas W. Holt Jr." Subject: Sheriff Rejects Hate Crime (fwd) ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 13 Oct 1994 21:17:44 -0700 From: Mills Mike To: Multiple recipients of list GLB-NEWS Subject: Sheriff Rejects Hate Crime Sheriff Rejects Hate Crime Date: Thu, 13 Oct 94 LAUREL, Miss. (AP) -- A teen-ager was charged Thursday with murdering two gay men in what the sheriff said was a robbery, not a hate crime, as some activists suspect. Sheriff Maurice Hooks said one of the victims was carrying about $100 before he was shot to death, and no money was found with the bodies. ``I definitely can say it was not a hate crime,'' Hooks said in announcing the arrest of 16-year-old Marvin McClendon. McClendon is charged with capital murder in the slayings over the weekend of Robert Walters, 34, and Joseph Shoemake, 24, both of Laurel. The teen-ager was jailed without bail. The bodies were found Saturday near abandoned railroad tracks. Each had been shot once in the head with a handgun. ``We still have unanswered questions,'' said Todd Emerson, founder of GL Friendly, a Mississippi Gulf Coast homosexual group. ``There is a real fear in the gay and lesbian community.'' Gay-rights organizations questioned whether the slayings occurred during a robbery, noting that jewelry and credit cards were found with the bodies. But investigators said the killer may have left the jewelry behind because it could be traced. Gay-rights advocates also noted that one man's pants were down around his ankles -- an indication, they said, that the killer might have been trying to humiliate the men because they were homosexual. Jones County Coroner Joyce Perrett said that one man's walking shorts were pulled down, but it appeared that that had occurred when the bodies were dragged. The man's underwear was not pulled down, and there were no signs of sexual abuse, she said. In a statement released before McClendon's arrest, Walters' parents criticized what they described as ``outside interference.'' ``We are indeed living in a sad world when a person's sexual preference attracts more attention than his murder,'' Gary and Betty Walters said. ``The family and friends of Bobby are deeply hurt and troubled by some groups who would use his death as a means to further their cause.'' ``The fact is, somebody has to ask the question: Why were these victims chosen?'' said Jill Tregor of San Francisco, who represents the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. ``Suddenly somebody appears and you arrest him. I just hope it's the right guy.''