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Racial slur, vandalism, stolen car shock family

The Boyds woke up to a stunning sight Wednesday. St. Petersburg police say they're investigating the incident as a hate crime.

By ABHI RAGHUNATHAN
Published May 18, 2006

[Times photo: Cherie Diez]

Shaneva Boyd came out of her home at 2401 15th Ave. N on Wednesday morning to find her husband's car had been stolen, her yard covered in toilet paper and a racial slur scratched into her 2004 Chevrolet Impala.

ST. PETERSBURG - When Shaneva Boyd stepped outside her house Wednesday morning, she found toilet paper covering the lawn, her husband's Cadillac STS missing and the front bumper of her silver Chevrolet Impala peeled away.

But what shocked her most was the message carved on the trunk of her car: "Go home you n-----."

St. Petersburg police are classifying the incident as a hate crime.

"The epithet makes it a hate crime," said police spokesman George Kajtsa.

The Boyds say they're more stunned than upset. They've rented the small, white-shingled home at 2401 15th Avenue N for about a year.

Aside from occasional arguments with a neighbor, Boyd said, she didn't have any problems there.

"It's confusing more than anything," said Boyd, 24.

Her husband, James Boyd, 34, said he was shocked. "It still hasn't settled in,'' he said.

Shaneva Boyd, a clerical worker at WorkNet Pinellas, was arrested in 2000 on a drug-related charge and in 2003 for failing to redeliver a hired vehicle. Florida Department of Law Enforcement Records show adjudication was withheld.

In an interview, Boyd said she'd left those problems behind and felt violated by the hate crime.

James Boyd served five years in prison for committing third-degree murder, obtaining his release in 1998. He's currently charged with committing identity theft, records show.

Boyd owns a business called Graduate Assistance and Consolidations, which he said mostly helps students consolidate student loans.

The couple cares for four young children, ranging from 7 months to 6 years. They also care for another 17-year-old boy they consider a foster son. They were planning to move to Tampa this summer because they'd found a house there.

James Boyd said he hadn't told his younger children about the hate crime because he didn't want to ruin their summers.

Police said Wednesday they couldn't provide the number of reported hate crimes this year because a data specialist with access to the information wasn't in the office. But in 2005, there were 13 reported victims of hate crime violence in St. Petersburg.

Times researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report. Abhi Raghunathan can be reached at araghunathan@sptimes.com or 727 893-8472.

[Last modified May 18, 2006, 06:48:58]