A 74-year-old North Dakota man was handed a prison sentence this week for attacking two Black girls nearly two years ago.
On Monday, April 3, Larry Wayne Baldner, of Fargo, was sentenced to two years in prison for slapping the children and choking one of them, an 11-year-old, on September 21, 2021, according to Inforum. Baldner previously pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, a felony, and misdemeanor simple assault, reporters learned.
The incident kicked off when Balder, who’s white, came home and found the 11-year-old Black girl and four boys playing basketball in the driveway of a duplex he shares with her family, a criminal complaint reads. When the older man demanded the kicks to get off his property, they refused and claimed they were playing on the family’s side of the driveway.
Baldner reportedly slapped the girl after she told him to get out of her face, authorities said. The victim left the scene and came back with her older sister to confront their white neighbor about the attack, and that’s when he grabbed the 11-year-old by her neck and hair, the complaint reads.
The complaint claims the man lifted the girl off the ground, prompting the older sister to strike him in the face. When the attacker was released from Baldner’s grasp, he turned his rage on the sister and slapped her in the face, according to law enforcement.
A report from the Fargo Police Department said Baldner hurled racial slurs during the attack.
Prosecutor Joshua Taser said Baldner should’ve known better considering his age and size. The defendant also blamed the girls for the racially-charged encounter and even called the charges a “crock” during the…
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