Nicholas Powers of Winthrop Harbor was ordered jailed for 4 months Friday for “being a follower” in hate crimes committed against a Waukegan synagogue and a Zion roller rink frequented by minorities.
He also was placed on probation for 30 months and ordered to pay $2,000 restitution and perform 200 hours of public service.
Lake County Circuit Judge Henry Tonigan rejected pleas from attorneys for both sides that Powers, as part of his punishment, do his public service at Temple Am Echod, which was defaced June 11, 1992.
“If I were a member of that synagogue, I would not want him on the premises,” Tonigan said.
Powers, 18, did not actively participate in painting swastikas and anti-Semitic slogans on Temple Am Echod, 1500 Sunset Ave., Waukegan. And he did not throw a pipe bomb that ignited the Park Roller Rink, 1550 Sheridan Rd., Zion, on June 13, 1992. There were no injuries.
“Nonetheless, he still was part of those acts which were unacceptable and repugnant to our community,” Tonigan said in sentencing Powers.
Powers was one of three people, including a juvenile from Zion, charged by Lake County authorities last May in connection with the 1992 hate crimes. Cory Dayton, 18, Zion, was sentenced earlier to 90 days in jail in connection with the bombing of the roller rink. The juvenile also admitted his guilt in the crimes.
Assistant State’s Atty. George Strickland said Friday that Powers, Dayton and the juvenile were close friends of Randall Scott Anderson, 19, Winthrop Harbor. Anderson, who is undergoing a mental health evaluation, is charged in U.S. District Court in Chicago in connection with the bombing of the roller rink.
Powers pleaded guilty to possession of explosives in the roller rink bombing. He also pleaded guilty to the attack on the temple.
“Without followers,” Tonigan said of Powers’ part in the crimes, “there can be no effective gangs. We wouldn’t have the gang problems we have without followers. . . . It is one of the tragedies of followers that they must be accountable.”
Tonigan said it would diminish the seriousness of the offenses if his probationary sentence did not include some time in the Lake County Jail. The sentence, he said, must send “some strong message that this conduct is not acceptable, whether you are a leader or a follower.”
