A White father and son in Mississippi have each been sentenced to four years in prison for convictions related to chasing and shooting at two Black teenagers who were riding all-terrain vehicles on a country road. Some of the charges were prosecuted as hate crimes, which strengthened the punishment. Wade Oscar Twiner, 49, of Yazoo City, Mississippi, and his son, Lane Irvine Twiner, 23, of Jackson, were sentenced Friday, Aug 27 in Yazoo County after jurors on Wednesday convicted each man of two counts of simple assault and one count of malicious mischief.
The district attorney’s office said the penalty for each simple assault conviction was increased because the men’s actions were deemed hate crimes under Mississippi law, which allows stronger penalties for crimes motivated by the victim’s actual or perceived race, color, ancestry, ethnicity, religion, national origin or gender. The men were arrested after the Sept. 27, 2020 chase in rural Yazoo County. The two teenagers were not injured, but they told investigators they were frightened for their lives.
The Black teenagers, Steven Gibbs and Deveon Luckett, were riding ATVs on a country road close to Wade Twiner’s home, said Chief Deputy Joseph Head of the Yazoo County Sheriff’s Office in reports obtained by The Associated Press. The Twiners initially told police that they were trying to perform a citizen’s arrest on the teens, who they claimed were driving recklessly. Gibbs and Luckett refuted that story and said that the men fired shots at them, which is why they sped off rapidly in an attempt to getaway when the Twiners quickly followed them.
The father and son got in a pickup and chased the two teens, firing several shots and bumping into one of the ATVs with the truck. Investigators recovered a 9 mm handgun that night when they stopped all parties. Yazoo County Sheriff Jake Sheriff told WLBT the Twiners said they own land on both sides of the public road and they should not have to deal with people riding ATVs on the road. Although operating ATVs on public roads is illegal in Mississippi, the law is not strictly enforced. The sheriff said other people were riding ATVs near the Twiners’ home the day they chased and shot at the Black teenagers.
The Twiners will both serve four years in prison and three years of supervised probation. Once released, they’ll be required to complete sensitivity training and 100 hours of community service. The father and son duo will also have to pay $2,500 in restitution to the victims and additional penalties of $3,500. The Twiners are prohibited from speaking to the victims or their families as well. They originally faced up to 20 years in prison.
