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Lawyers to review hate crime charge

The black woman’s alleged references to the other woman’s race boosted original charges.

By ABHI RAGHUNATHAN
Published September 26, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG — The two mothers came to St. Petersburg High School Monday evening to pick up their sons from football practice.

Before they left, they got in a screaming match in front of students, which ended with one of the women jailed on a hate crime charge.

LaTonya Crockett, 33, faces charges of aggravated assault and carrying a weapon on school grounds.

St. Petersburg police initially classified the assault charge as a hate crime, though that will be reviewed by prosecutors. A person can face stiffer penalties if they are convicted of a charge that is classified as a hate crime.

Crockett, who is black, repeatedly called Janice F. Scsavnicki, 42, a “white (whore)” and threatened to hit her with half of a metallic Club, a device used to protect cars from theft, police said.

According to an arrest affidavit, Scsavnicki believed “violence was imminent” and that the incident was “racially motivated.”
“To me, this is a very racial, black and white issue,” Scsavnicki said. “I was afraid for my life.”

Mary Scott, 40, Crockett’s aunt, said the family planned to fight the charges. Scott called the allegations bogus and accused Scsavnicki of starting the incident.

“She is ruining her life,” Scott said of Scsavnicki. “An argument started, no one was touched, no one was hit. Only words were exchanged.”

The incident began around 5 p.m. Monday as a junior varsity football practice was ending at St. Petersburg High. Both women were going to the school to pick up their kids.

Scsavnicki said a car driven by Crockett nearly sideswiped her as she waited at a stop sign near 7th Avenue N and 28th Street N. Scsavnicki then pulled her car into a line of vehicles near the practice, waiting with other parents to pick up their children.

Then, Scasvnicki said, she saw Crockett walk in front of her car and come up to her window while carrying her “Club.” She says Crockett started yelling at her.

Scott, Crockett’s aunt, said Scsavnicki started the argument by getting out of her car and telling Crockett that she nearly hit her car.

Scsavnicki says she stayed in her Dodge Intrepid in fear at first as Crockett repeatedly called her a “white (whore).” She says she got out of her car only when she thought Crockett was going to bang on her hood, and then began yelling for someone to call 911 and to call the coaches.

She says her son called 911.

After police arrived and talked to witnesses, they arrested Crockett on charges of aggravated assault and carrying a weapon on school grounds.

 Police said Crockett carried the club across the football field before confronting Scsavnicki.

Scott said Crockett was carrying the club for security. She said school employees didn’t see anything unusual about that.

Scsavnicki said she spoke to St. Petersburg High principal Al Bennett about the matter, and she believes the practices need more oversight. Bennett could not be reached late Tuesday.

“I’m still afraid,” Scsavnicki said.

Congress enacted the Hate Crime Statistics Act of 1990 in response to rising concern over crimes motivated by bias, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The law directed the Attorney General to collect data “about crimes that manifest evidence of prejudice based on race, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.”

A state report released last year said St. Petersburg had more hate crimes than any other city in Florida in 2004, but police called it a statistical aberration because figures were skewed by one evening of civil unrest. On May 12, 2004, a group of about 125 people, mostly black, threw bricks and bottles at drivers, mostly white. That incident accounted for 29 of the city’s 49 reported hate crimes that year.

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

[Last modified September 26, 2006, 23:35:02]