A Virginia man is accused of chasing a stranger on the road and striking her car last week before yanking her from the vehicle and assaulting her because she is black.
Matthew R. Ellis, 27, of Chester, also spit on police officers as they arrested him May 5, the Chesterfield County police told the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
"The investigation indicates that Ellis assaulted the victim because she is black," Chesterfield County police spokeswoman Liz Caroon told the Times-Dispatch in an email.
Ellis is white.
The victim told investigators that she was waiting to turn at an intersection when a vehicle pulled alongside her and the driver, later identified as Ellis, began shouting at her. Frightened, she changed course and turned east instead of taking her planned westbound route, but Ellis followed her.
Ellis, who just recently had his driver's license reinstated following a DUI conviction, eventually rammed the back of the woman's car, the Times-Dispatch reported. Police said that he got out of his vehicle, opened her driver's side door and pulled her from her vehicle.
Two nearby men ran over and tried to restrain Ellis, allowing the woman to flee, the newspaper reported. She ran to a nearby business, where employees locked the door behind her.
Ellis broke free from the men and followed her, trying to force his way inside the building, the Times-Dispatch said. The men, along with a third man, grabbed him again and restrained him until police arrived.
Ellis then spit on the two officers who responded to the scene, police said.
WRIC in Richmond reported that Ellis is charged with assault and battery causing bodily injury in a hate crime, abduction and kidnapping, attempted breaking and entering and two counts of assault and battery on a police officer. He is also charged with reckless driving and disregarding a traffic signal.
Caroon declined to say what Ellis said or did to lead police to the conclusion that the assault was racially motivated, the Times-Dispatch said. She said Ellis and the woman were not acquainted.
The newspaper reported, however, that court and online records show they both live in the same apartment community.
Credit: Images_By_Kenny
Credit: Images_By_Kenny
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