Overview
- Derrick Bernard received a 46-month federal sentence Wednesday, along with three years of supervised release and a $200 assessment.
- U.S. District Judge Regina Rodriguez applied a hate-crime enhancement, saying the cross burning would not have happened but for Yemi Mobolade’s race.
- Prosecutors said Bernard and Ashley Blackcloud burned a cross by a Mobolade sign defaced with a slur, then emailed video and a photo that falsely blamed his opponent.
- Investigators from Colorado Springs police and the FBI used surveillance video from around 2:30 to 3:30 a.m. to identify Bernard and Blackcloud as participants.
- Blackcloud got a year and a day in federal prison and is appealing, Deanna West received probation and a fine, and Bernard also has a separate state life sentence for a 2024 murder.