Almost missed this one; remember when the entire right wing blogosphere went into a race-baiting frenzy over a story from Alabama, in which a white man was beaten by a group of African Americans who, according to the wingnuts, said it was “justice for Trayvon Martin?”

Well, the story was bogus. According to the police, this was an “ongoing dispute with neighbors,” and had nothing to do with Trayvon Martin at all: Terry Rawls Arrested and Charged With Matthew Owens Beating.

Cops in Mobile, Ala. made their first arrest in the apparent mob beating of Matthew Owens: Terry Rawls surrendered Wednesday on assault charges.

In less than a week, the brutal attack on Owens — which left him in critical condition — went from being described as a hate crime connected to the Trayvon Martin killing in Florida to an ongoing feud between neighbors, WKRG reported.

“This here is an ongoing dispute with neighbors, that’s what this is,” Mobile Police Corporal Chris Levy told the station. …

Cops said on Wednesday that they expect to arrest three more suspects involved in the fight, but added that the so-called “mob” consisted mostly of bystanders, WKRG reported.

“What we know is that Mr. Owens was fussing at some kids about playing basketball in the street,” said Levy. “These kids then went back and told their parents about the exchange they had with Mr. Owens.”

The adults “were having a get together down the street, [and] came down to where Mr. Owens is, and there was a series of racial slurs exchanged, and there was a fight,” said Levy.

He ruled out that it was a hate crime and said that the Trayvon Martin shooting wasn’t a motivating factor, according to media reports.