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71-year-old charged with hate crime in cane attack
A 71-year-old suburban Fort Worth, Texas, woman has been charged with a hate crime for allegedly beating a man with a wooden cane because she believed he’s gay and has AIDS.
Police in Richland Hills, Texas, say Wanda Derby assaulted the 25-year-old man on March 28 as her son was moving into the man’s apartment. She apparently was upset with her son’s decision to move in with him, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
The newspaper reported this week that Derby posted $11,500 bond and has been released from jail.
She’s charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and the charge is enhanced as a hate crime. She’s also charged with assault causing bodily injury.
Police said Derby used an anti-gay slur in attacking the man and that she told officers he had AIDS and was going to kill her son.
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