Suspect Denies He Terrorized Family With Cross Burning

A 23-year-old Westminster man who reportedly espouses racist views pleaded not guilty in a Santa Ana federal court Monday to charges that he burned a cross on the front lawn of a neighboring black family last summer.

Gary A. Skillman was arrested Saturday night, 3 months after Alvin T. Heisser and his family awoke to find a flaming cross in the front yard of their Westminster home. Skillman, who is on probation on a cocaine possession conviction, lives 1 block from the Heisser family in a mostly white neighborhood.

A federal grand jury issued an indictment against Skillman on Oct. 25 on three charges--two of them involving civil rights violations and one involving use of fire in a felony--and a warrant was then issued for his arrest. The indictment was unsealed Monday.

Racist Elements Revealed

Assistant U.S. Atty. Thomas J. Umberg declined to comment on reports that the suspect is a neo-Nazi “skinhead.” But at Skillman’s arraignment, Umberg introduced as evidence a racist poem Skillman was carrying when he was arrested. A dart-board target showing an obscene drawing of a running black man, which Umberg said was found at Skillman’s home, was also submitted.

Skillman, wearing blue jeans, a plaid shirt and heavy boots, appeared before a U.S. magistrate with his mostly shoulder-length blond hair cut very short on the left side. Umberg said the left side of Skillman’s hair had been shaved to the scalp at the time of the cross burning.

The prosecutor said in court that Skillman had admitted to making the cross and being present at its burning. Umberg would not elaborate when or to whom Skillman made those statements.

The defense’s attorney, H. Dean Steward, a federal deputy public defender, told U.S. Magistrate Ronald W. Rose that Skillman “absolutely and vehemently denies” the charges.

He said that Skillman has had a “stormy” relationship with the Heisser family but that it was “not a racial situation at all.”

Because of the ongoing bad feelings, Steward said, it was uncertain which party was being made the “scapegoat” in the case. Steward refused comment after the court hearing.

Heisser, contacted Monday evening, denied the defense attorney’s contention.

“I know nothing about it whatsoever,” he said about running animosity with Skillman.

The arrest was made after an investigation involving the Westminster police and fire departments and the FBI. The civil rights division of the Justice Department was also brought in, Umberg said.

According to the indictment, at least one other known person was also involved in the cross burning. Umberg would not comment on the other suspect’s identity, saying only that the investigation is continuing, and refused to discuss how the investigation led authorities to Skillman.

Skillman is charged with one felony count of conspiracy against the civil rights of another person and one felony count of using fire in the commission of a felony. He also is charged with one misdemeanor count of using force and threat of force to intimidate.

If convicted, he faces up to 21 years in federal prison and $600,000 in fines.

The indictment states that Skillman and another person “whose identity is known to the grand jury” built a wooden cross at Skillman’s home, wrapped it in cloth, took it to the Heissers’ home, poured flammable liquid on it and set fire to it July 28.

The Heisser family--Alvin, his wife, Lillie, and, children, Peter and Kristi--are the only black family on Shawnee Road and one of three black families in the Indian Village neighborhood, a middle-class area of single-family homes. Heisser was president of the county chapter of National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People in 1967-68.

First Such Incident

It was the first cross burning in the city, and officials with the county Human Relations Commission could recall no similar incidents elsewhere in the county.

Before his arraignment Monday afternoon, Skillman--clean-shaven except for a tiny “stinger” tuft of beard below his lower lip--silently mouthed words to a young woman in the audience who wore a Confederate-style cap. The woman, who apparently is a friend of Skillman, declined to talk to reporters.

The federal magistrate set bail at $50,000, rejecting the prosecutor’s argument that Skillman be held without bail. Rose said there was no “clear and convincing” evidence that the defendant presents a danger to the community.

It was not immediately known when or if Skillman would post bond.

Rose scheduled Skillman’s trial for Dec. 27.

Umberg had argued against bail, saying that Skillman poses a flight risk. For the last 2 weekends, the defendant failed to report for required weekend incarceration related to his previous drug conviction, the prosecutor said.

According to court records, Skillman was sentenced 3 months ago to probation for a felony conviction on charges of possession of illegal drugs. He was convicted of having cocaine, methamphetamines and an ounce or less of marijuana in his possession on Oct. 5, 1987.

Skillman pleaded guilty to the three counts of drug possession, and Orange County Superior Court Judge Luis A. Cardenas sentenced him to 3 years’ probation and a $100 fine. Skillman served 22 days in jail, records show, and the remainder of his 30-day sentence was suspended.

During bail arguments, Umberg also said Skillman knew authorities were pursuing him but failed to turn himself in.

According to police, Skillman was arrested about 6 p.m. Saturday at the corner of Westminster Boulevard and La Pata Street, about 1 mile from his home.

During Monday’s hearing, Umberg noted that Skillman sports several racist tattoos, including “100% Pure White” on his forearms, and that he carried the racist poem typewritten on a card in his pocket.

Skillman’s attorney countered that the First Amendment “allows us to have any beliefs you want. It’s a matter of whether you act on them.”

With the high emotional level of the case, Steward noted, “it’s going to be a difficult battle for the defendant to keep this in proper perspective. . . . It troubles me that because someone carries a card and thinks about something that they should be denied something (as basic) as bail.”

Steward would not elaborate on the nature of the alleged disagreement between Skillman and the Heisser family in open court and discussed it only when he and the prosecutor approached the bench, out of the earshot of the audience.

During court arguments, Steward did say that since the cross burning, Skillman and his family have received a threatening letter.

After the burning, neighbors and police had said they suspected neo-Nazi “skinheads.” In the weeks before the incident, residents reported seeing white-supremacist graffiti sprayed on walls in the neighborhood. Included were swastikas and the letters SWP, which stands for Supreme White Power.

SWP was also written in graffiti-like handwriting on the dart-board target taken from Skillman’s home. At the bottom of the target drawing, were the words, “Note: All body shots count 5. Shots to the head do not count unless metal-piercing cartridge is used.”

Asked Monday whether she is surprised by Skillman’s arrest, Lillie Heisser said: “We knew it all the time. . . . It’s him (Skillman) and two others.”

But her husband said that he does not know Skillman and that he recognized Skillman’s name only because police mentioned it to him a few days after the burning and asked him whether he knew the suspect.

Alvin Heisser said the cross burning has been tremendously upsetting: “It’s more than any vandalism when you burn a cross on a person’s lawn, especially a black person’s.”

Neighbors contacted Monday had varying opinions of Skillman, though most of them described him as “polite.”

Some criticized Skillman for blaring heavy-metal music, having loud parties and being associated with drugs. Others said he is just a nice kid.

“He was the sweetest thing you ever saw,” said Nikki Pillon, 49, whose children grew up with Skillman and his brother. “He was a sad little boy looking for love and attention, and he still is.”

But another neighbor, who refused to give her name because she said she was afraid of retaliation by skinheads, said the sweet description no longer applies.

“Gary used to be such a cute little kid,” she said. “The change that came over Gary and his brother is just unbelievable. But he’s always been very polite. Always said, ‘Hello.’ ”

Another woman, who refused to be named for the same reason, attributed the change to Skillman’s use of drugs: “The kids have always been in some kind of trouble. It was very obvious that they were (involved with) in drugs.”

But Skillman’s brother, Shawn, 19, insisted that his brother is innocent and has been made into a scapegoat.

“They arrested him because they put too much money in the investigation,” he said on the front lawn of the family’s home. “The FBI spent too much money and had to blame somebody.”

Times staff writers Laura Kurtzman and Eric Lichtblau contributed to this report.