Photo: Cass County Jail
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 investigation, Taser added.
“Baldner unnecessarily belittled the children by using racial epithets at the time of his attack,” the prosecutor wrote in a statement, recommending a 24-month sentence for the attacker. “A significant term of incarceration is necessary to hold Baldner accountable and to send a message that this court and this community takes racialized violence seriously.”
Erica Skoven Hovey, Baldner's attorney, said her client was acting in self-defense and acted "reasonably." The lawyer also cited witness accounts of the 11-year-old girl pushing Baldner while other children attacked him. It's not clear whether this happened before or after he reportedly slapped the victim.
“Mr. Baldner could have reasonably believed that he was legally justified to use force to defend himself and his property against danger of imminent unlawful bodily injury or to prevent or terminate an unlawful entry or trespass in or upon his premises,” Skogen Hovey wrote.
The defense suggested Baldner serve three days in prison and 90 days of house arrest with electronic home monitoring. Cass County Judge Susan Bailey accepted the prosecution's recommendation.
According to Valley News Alive, the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office are reviewing the case for federal hate crime charges.
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