FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          CR
MONDAY, AUGUST 5, 1996                             (202) 616-2765
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

                                 
           TWO TEXAS MEN PLEAD GUILTY TO BURNING DOWN
              A HOUSE BELONGING TO A BLACK FAMILY


     WASHINGTON, D.C. --  Two Texas men pled guilty today to
attempting to intimidate an African-American family by burning
down the house where the family planned to move, the Justice
Department announced.

     Shannon Ray Singleton, 18, and Gary Wayne Stouard, 40, both
of Wichita Falls, pled guilty today in U.S. District Court in
Dallas to burning down a house in early March which Ruby Fleeks,
an African-American woman, planned to live in with her two
children.  

     "No American should live in fear of having their home
attacked because of their race," said Assistant Attorney General
Deval. L. Patrick.  "We will not tolerate acts of racial hatred
toward members of our society and we will continue to vigorously
prosecute these crimes."

     According to a two count information filed today, Stouard
solicited Singleton on March 5 to set fire to a house at 2118
Bluff Street, directly across the street from Stouard's own home. 
Fleeks and her family were to move the next day, and had many of
their belongings in the house already.  Stouard offered to pay
Singleton $50 and to provide him with the necessary supplies to
carry out the act.

     That night, Singleton obtained gasoline from Stouard's home
and used it to set fire to the house, breaking a window to pour
the gasoline before lighting it.  After committing the act,
Singleton sought refuge in Stouard's home to avoid detection by
the police.

     The Fleeks family was not able to move into the home.

     "We treat this attack so seriously because it was aimed not
simply at one African-American family, but at an entire
community.  It is a graphic reminder of how far we still have to
go in race relations in this country," said Paul E. Coggins, U.S.
Attorney in Dallas.

     Count one of the information charged the two with conspiring
to intimidate and injure the Fleeks family because of their race. 
Count two charged the two with committing a felony with the use
of fire.

     Sentencing will take place on October 21, 1996.  Under the
law, each face up to 15 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
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