PA man facing hate crime charge after striking a woman at downtown State College store
A western Pennsylvania man was charged with ethnic intimidation Friday after being accused of accosting a woman of Hispanic descent at a downtown State College business.
William A. Ring, 23, of Westmoreland County, confronted the woman earlier this month after a verbal altercation at Target, 201 W. Beaver Ave., borough police wrote in an affidavit of probable cause.
Ring, who is white, was accused of telling the woman “Go back to where you came from you Mexican” and “Your skin color is ugly.” A witness said Ring also yelled “Why don’t you go back across the border” at the woman, police wrote.
He then struck the woman in the face with a closed fist, causing redness and bruising that worsened in the following days, police wrote.
A defense lawyer was not listed. A phone number listed for Ring did not accept a call Monday.
Ring was charged with one misdemeanor count each of ethnic intimidation and simple assault. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 20.