KENOSHA — A Pleasant Prairie man is now being charged with a hate crime after he called a woman the N-word and attempted to hit her with his car.
78-year-old Robert Carver is now facing two charges following the incident. According to a criminal complaint, he is being charged with a hate crime and endangering safety by use of a dangerous weapon.
The district attorney's office is calling the endangering safety charge a hate crime as well.
According to the complaint, Cassandra Harris was at a Kenosha Menards when she was verbally attacked by Carver. She had been moving her cart to a nearby light pole when Carver confronted her and said "You n****r. Don’t leave that cart right there!"
Harris says she then told Carver that he can't talk to her that way and he needed to stop. Carver continued on by using racial slurs against Harris and telling her to f*** herself.
The complaint states that Carver then got in his Hummer and began backing out of his parking spot. He then switched the vehicle into drive and drove through the stall towards Harris.
Harris told police that she had to jump out of the way, otherwise the vehicle would have hit her.
A witness was in the parking lot when this incident occurred. The complaint states that he approached the Hummer, pounded on the window, and told Carver to stop.
Carver then yelled at both the witness and Harris as he drove away.
The witness explained what he saw to the police. He stated that he heard Carver call Harris the N-word and saw him drive towards her. A Menards employee was also in the parking lot and saw the whole incident take place.
According to the complaint, when police arrived and identified the vehicle as belonging to Carver, they went to his residence. However, he was not home. They were informed that Carver was back at Menards.
When they spoke to him, he denied using any racial slurs against Harris. However, he did admit to driving forwards because Harris was coming at him.
Officers also discovered a video on Facebook from the incident. In the video, you can hear Harris saying "I'm out here being black, that's a crime?"
The video shows Carver backing out and then driving towards Harris. You can see Harris jump out of the way and the witness approach the Hummer.
If convicted, Carver faces a maximum sentence of three years.
You can read the full criminal complaint below.
