MAN CHARGED WITH HATE-CRIME ATTACK
A Chula Vista man was charged Monday with a hate crime for allegedly attacking a neighbor last month while shouting homophobic slurs at the victim, according to prosecutors.
The suspect, 40-year-old Robert Frank Wilson, is also accused of working with a group of other people to hang an antisemitic banner on a freeway overpass Dec. 18 in San Diego.
Wilson pleaded not guilty in San Diego Superior Court to the battery charge and hate crime allegation in connection with the Nov. 10 attack on his neighbor, according to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office. If convicted, he faces up to three years and six months in prison.
Prosecutors allege Wilson used his vehicle to block his neighbor’s driveway, then got out of the vehicle and began yelling homophobic slurs at the victim. At one point, Wilson reached into the window of the victim’s vehicle and struck him in the face, the District Attorney’s Office contends.
Wilson did not respond to a voicemail seeking comment Monday evening. A deputy public defender represented him at his arraignment, according to a spokesperson for the District Attorney’s Office, but it was not immediately clear who would represent him moving forward.
Prosecutors charged Wilson with felony battery because they say he committed the crime specifically because of the victim’s protected status — in this case, his sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation. Prosecutors must prove a hate crime by showing it was motivated by prejudice against the victim’s race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.
On Dec. 18, the San Diego Police Department cited Wilson for allegedly working with other people to hang an antisemitic banner on an Interstate 805 overpass. The District Attorney’s Office said it is including that municipal code violation with the battery charge and hate-crime allegation against Wilson.
District Attorney Summer Stephan said in a statement that prosecuting hate crimes is a priority for her office. She said her deputies filed 21 hate-crime cases in 2020 and 30 so far in 2021.