By RICHARD ABSHIRE / The Dallas Morning News
rabshire@dallasnews.com

Two suspects have been arrested after a man last seen in their company was found dead last month on a rural road outside Paris, Texas.

Charles Ryan Crostley, 27, of Paris was arrested last Wednesday and is being held in the Lamar County Jail in lieu of more than $500,000 bail. Shannon Keith Finley, 27, of Brookston – just west of Paris – has waived his right to extradition from Wichita, Kan., where he was arrested Thursday after a manhunt.

Both men are charged with murder and tampering with evidence in the death of Brandon McClelland, 24, whose body was found on a farm-to-market road early on the morning of Sept. 16.

Witnesses told police that the three men were together in the hours before Mr. McClelland's body was found in what was initially thought to be a hit-and-run incident.

Authorities discount speculation that the killing might have been a hate crime. The suspects are white, and Mr. McClelland is black.

"At this point, there is no evidence that this was a hate crime," said District Attorney Gary Young. "If anyone has information about that, we would encourage them to call us or law enforcement."

Paris is about 90 miles northeast of Dallas, near the Red River.

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