Woman pleads no contest in Mich. riot case
October 6, 2004
ST. JOSEPH, Mich. --A woman who police say sold stones to rioters in a southwest Michigan city last year and used the money to pay her cable television bill has pleaded no contest to inciting a riot.
Yuolanda Taylor, 32, entered the plea Monday. A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is treated as such for sentencing purposes. She is free on bail, but faces up to 10 years in prison at her sentencing Nov. 15.
The city of Benton Harbor was devastated by two nights of rioting last June sparked by the death of a black motorcyclist during a high-speed police chase. Twenty-one houses, many vacant, were destroyed.
Police said Taylor toted rocks through a riot-wracked neighborhood, selling small ones for $1 each and bigger ones for $5. Prosecutors said the rocks were thrown at police.
Taylor told police she collected about $70 selling rocks, but quit when she got hit by one herself
