COEUR d'ALENE - Jurors today are likely to begin deliberating in a hate crime trial involving two white Coeur d'Alene men who are accused of threatening a Hispanic man because of his race.

William M. Tankovich Jr., 50, and brother Frank J. Tankovich, 47, are both charged with conspiracy to commit malicious harassment and malicious harassment, and have pleaded not guilty to the felony counts.

The Tankoviches are accused of threatening and shouting racial slurs at Kenneth Requena in August 2009 outside his Coeur d'Alene home, near the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and 20th Street.

The trial began Monday in Kootenai County District Court, and closing arguments are expected today.

On Wednesday, Tim Higgins, an Idaho Department of Correction employee who performs tattoo identification for the state to better manage security risks in prisons, testified as an expert about two of William Tankovich's tattoos.

He said one depicts "Nazi SS bolts." A tattoo of someone's name incorporates the Aryan clover leaf in its design, he told the jury.

Requena testified during the trial, saying that on the day of the incident he was in his open garage looking out on 20th Street when the Tankoviches drove by in a large pickup truck.

Requena, a former soldier in the U.S. Army, said the occupants of the truck were staring with looks of "disgust" at him and his wife, who is white.

He gestured to his wife. At that point, he said, the truck's tires squealed as the truck was shifted into reverse and then stopped in front of his driveway.

Alarmed, he sent his wife, Kim, into their home to get a handgun from the kitchen and call 911.

He said the two brothers, and a third, Ira G. Tankovich, 48, got out of the truck and charged him.

His wife handed him the gun, and he put a round in the chamber, he said. The brothers didn't enter his property after seeing the gun.

Police soon arrived and the brothers left the scene, only to return about 20 to 30 minutes later. This time they approached his house on foot from two directions, he said.

William and Frank Tankovich walked along Pennsylvania Avenue with a chained pit pull. Ira Tankovich walked northbound on 20th Street, packing a pistol.

Kim Requena again called 911, and police returned. Ira Tankovich was seized by police after they spotted him toss the gun onto a neighbor's property. Ira Tankovich, who has the words "Aryan pride" tattooed on his calves, pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a handgun and was sentenced to nine years in prison in August.

Requena said the Tankoviches yelled to "'arrest that (expletive) beaner, he's a terrorist.'" "Beaner" was yelled repeatedly, he said.

Kim Requena testified that a swastika was drawn in the dirt and mud on the driver's side of the truck.

Two neighbors testified that they called 911 to report the confrontation. One of the neighbors said she saw "Born 2 Kill" drawn in the dirt of the pickup truck on the passenger side.

Defense attorneys, in opening statements, told the jury the Tankoviches innocently wanted to inquire about purchasing some cable from Requena after they spotted Requena's work van, which he uses as an electrical contractor.

The defense team said the Tankoviches were angry that Requena pulled a gun on them. The defense said the case isn't about race.

William Tankovich's daughter testified that she was with the brothers when their truck stopped in front of Requena's house for cable. She cried as she recalled Requena pointing his handgun at her father. Requena denied doing so.

A March trial of the three Tankoviches ended in a mistrial. The three were tried in April and jurors deadlocked on the charges against William and Frank Tankovich. Jurors in the second trial convicted Ira Tankovich of conspiracy to disturb the peace.