FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2008 WWW.USDOJ.GOV CRT (202) 514-2007 TDD (202) 514-1888 WASHINGTON - Daryl Lee Fierce, 69, of Charleston, W.Va., was indicted by a federal grand jury for using fire to intimidate and interfere with a person’s housing rights because African-American and biracial individuals visited the person in her home. The indictment, which was unsealed today, also charges Fierce with using fire to commit a felony. According to the indictment, on or about July 16, 2007, Fierce set fire to a home located on Noyes Avenue in Charleston because the tenant occupying the home, a white woman, associated with persons of another race and color. Fierce's alleged objective was to injure, intimidate and interfere with the woman in the occupancy of the home, a violation of her housing rights.
The charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
If convicted, Fierce faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Charleston Police Department and the Charleston Fire Department investigated this case. The case is being prosecuted jointly by the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorneys Office in the Southern District of West Virginia. 08-1053
Source: US Department of Justice
