Man who used racial slurs in road rage case gets probation

LANCASTER, Pa. – A man who admitted using racial slurs and threatening a woman in a road rage incident in Pennsylvania last year has been sentenced to 10 years’ probation.

Fifty-eight-year-old Roger Chenault (SHEN’-oh) pleaded guilty last week to felony ethnic intimidation, terroristic threats, simple assault and reckless driving. He already spent a month in prison.

Prosecutors in Lancaster County said Chenault, who is white, veered in front of the woman, who is black, on Route 999 in July and confronted her. They say he threatened to shoot her “brains out.”

Chenault said a work injury that led to the amputation of his left leg and left him in a wheelchair has impacted his thinking. But the judge says that didn’t excuse his behaviour. He was convicted of assault in 2013 and 2016 road rage-related incidents.