Man arrested for violent hate crime in First Hill

Seattle Police arrested a man who attacked a woman while yelling racial slurs in the First Hill neighborhood.

On Tuesday night, police say the 42-year-old suspect ran out of an apartment building and started yelling racist language at a woman walking to meet a friend.

He then punched one of the victims, knocking her to the ground, released a “flurry” of punches, and kicked her while yelling racial slurs, according to court documents.

The suspect fled the scene to his apartment and when authorities arrived, they treated the woman who had injuries to her head, face, and knee but was in stable condition.

“Seemed to be unprovoked by the victim and it was pretty traumatic for the victim,” said Casey McNerthney with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

McNerthney says the randomness of this assault makes the suspect that much more dangerous.

“Unpredictability is certainly a concern,” he added. “When you’re going about your day doing nothing wrong and all of a sudden, someone is accused of hitting you like this and saying those terrible things. That’s really frightening for anybody who identifies like that.”

On Wednesday, the suspect declined to show up to his first appearance in court.

But on the suspect’s behalf, his lawyers argued he has no criminal history and should be released.

“No history of any racist behavior, violent behavior, any other untoward behavior. I think there’s every reason to believe this is an isolated incident and something that requires treatment rather than incarceration,” said the defense attorney in court.

Prosecutors say releasing him would put the victim’s safety and others at risk.

“You can have no criminal history and still be accused of a terrible crime,” McNerthney said.

The suspect is being held on $20,000 bail.

Prosecutors expect to get the case from Seattle Police on Friday which will determine criminal charges.

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