Second Man Pleads Guilty In Md. Raccoon Noose Case

BALTIMORE (AP) -- Federal prosecutors say a Maryland man has pleaded guilty to taking part in hanging a dead raccoon on the porch of a family from Africa to frighten them.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Baltimore says Billy Ray Pratt, 24, of Halethorpe faces up to 10 years in prison for
conspiracy to deprive a person of civil rights after pleading guilty Thursday. Sentencing is set for Aug. 17.

Prosecutors say that in 2010, Pratt, 20-year-old Joshua Wall and three other co-conspirators agreed on a plan to hang the raccoon from a noose on the porch of the victims' home after an acquaintance of Wall's had an argument with a member of the family.

Wall, of Essex, Md., previously pleaded guilty and will be sentenced the same day as Pratt.

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