Couples indicted on hate crime charges

By Staff
Leada Gore, Hartselle Enquirer
The four Hartselle residents accused of destroying an altar during a church service earlier this month have been indicted under the state's hate crime law.
A Morgan County Grand Jury last week indicted Val Eugene Loughman, 20, his wife, Emily, 21, Adam Josephy Turgeon, 27 and Lisa Marie Wagner, 26, all of 1004 Mitwede Street in Hartselle, of criminal mischief. The four are charged with disrupting the Oct. 2 mass at the Annunication of the Lord Catholic Church in Decatur. Police said Turgeon turned a 500-pound marble altar over as Wagner preached to the crowd about worshiping idols.
The Loughmans accompanied the other couple to the church.
The four were indicted under a provision of Alabama law set aside for crimes motivated by the victim's race, religion, ethnicity or physical or mental disability.
The Loughmans were released on $750 bond. Bond for Turgeon and Wagner were set at $10,000 each. If convicted, the four could face up to 20 years in prison. Federal hate crime charges could also be filed.