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Last week, a 26-year-old resident of Texas was sentenced to probation for a violent hate crime that occurred outside the MGM Casino in Detroit last July.
William Wilson, along with another man, shouted out homophobic slurs to two same sex couples that returned to the casino to retrieve their vehicle.
One woman was knocked unconscious after being repeatedly punched. A witness told Local 4 that he had struck her, causing her to fall to the ground and when she tried to get back up, he knocked her out and continued to hit her while she was unconscious and later hospitalized.
Chelsi Wade said she and her partner tried to be nice at first, but the men were incoherent and aggressive, putting their arms around them. Wade's wire, Celia Howter, was identified as the person they assaulted.
"I want to say the reason why he did come to us and try to start stuff with us is we were holding hands and they were holding hands," she said. "Then he comes over to David and tries to do the same thing, and David is like, 'No, we are good,' and that’s when everything turned into a disaster.
"The first thing I saw was the first punch, she fell on the ground. I saw she. She was trying to get back up, and he hits her again. That’s when she was unconscious; you could see her eyes wide open, and she fell face-first onto the concrete. Then at that point, he proceeds to hit her again while she’s unconscious on the ground," Wade said.
Wade followed the two men for three miles.
Wilson was charged with assault with intent to do great bodily harm, aggravated assault, two counts of assault and battery and four counts of hate crime -- use of force causing bodily injury. Seven chargers were dismissed as part of the plea deal.
Wilson pleaded guilty to one count of hate crime causing bodily injury and attempted assault with a dangerous weapon. He could have faced up to two years prison time.
The other individual fled the scene and “got away,” according to police and witnesses.
A woman was hospitalized after the attack.
- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
