RENTON, Wash. — Four people have now been arrested for the alleged hate crime assault against a trans woman in Renton earlier this month.
On Sept. 15, a 39-year-old woman noticed a group of eight to 10 boys harassing people near the transit center.
She apparently said something to the boys to try to get them to stop.
Three hours later, she ran into the group again and words were exchanged, police said.
“She felt unsafe, so she went back to the establishment trying to get help, where she tripped on something and landed on the ground, and that’s when the group jumped on her,” said Meeghan Black, a spokesperson for the Renton Police Department.
There’s a GoFundMe account set up for the woman, showing her injuries.
She says the group of boys beat her and stomped on her face, breaking her nose and eye socket.
A video sent to police from a witness shows four people surrounding her while she’s on the ground. Three of the suspects stood above her and “began violently punch and kick the victim (multiple times) around her torso and head,” court documents said. The three paused and then resumed their assault.
The victim suffered a broken nose, a broken occipital bone and a broken orbital bone, according to court documents. She also was apparently strangled.
The victim said she believes that she also has broken ribs due to the inability to breathe normally and the extreme level of pain as it relates to day-to-day movements.
“I didn’t feel like I was taking an ass-whooping, I was fighting for my life. I thought they were going to kill me. I didn’t think that what they were doing was like beating me up. I thought they were killing me,” she told police, according to court documents.
According to the victim, the group yelled homophobic slurs and threats at her.
The four were able to be identified through witness video, the victim’s statements and matching clothing descriptions.
Ramodre Edwards, 25, has been charged with second-degree assault and a hate crime offense. A 15, 16, and 17-year-old were also arrested and charged with second-degree assault and a hate crime.
“These felony crimes are filed in juvenile court through traditional prosecution, and under state law prosecutors do not have the ability to ask a judge to move these crimes to adult court,” the prosecutor’s office wrote.
The 15 and 17-year-olds were arrested last week. The 16-year-old and 25-year-old were arrested this week and will have their court appearances soon.
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