‘Heinous’: 2 men charged for attacking Black driver in Federal Way hate crime, robbery

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. — King County prosecutors filed hate crime and first-degree robbery charges Tuesday against two men for allegedly chasing a Black driver more than 10 miles before viciously beating him “to a bloody pulp” while yelling racial slurs loud enough for neighbors to hear from inside their homes.

Charging papers said the suspects, Eric Wise and Travis Phillips, were both covered in the victim’s blood and had his wallet and shoes in their car when questioned by police after the early Monday morning “brutal hate crime” in Federal Way that left the man hospitalized with facial fractures.

Phillips told police he was driving on Pacific Highway South with Wise as his passenger when the victim rear-ended their car in a “hit and run,” according to charging papers, that said Phillips admitted to then chasing down the victim.

“I beat his (expletive) because he was a n****r,” Phillips allegedly said to police after being handcuffed. “(Expletive) that Black guy, I beat his (expletive).”

Investigators said around 12:40 a.m. Monday, they received two 911 calls about two white men assaulting a Black man near S. 304th Street and 10th Avenue S. One neighbor reportedly told police he heard the men screaming racial slurs during the attack and say, “I followed you, you (expletive) totaled my car.”

Charging papers said that neighbor came out of their home and saw the victim get hit “at least 15 times by a defendant before the victim was drug from his car” and repeatedly kicked by the men in the head and body while on the ground.

A responding officer, who stopped the suspects after they ran a stop sign while driving away in their damaged car, said the men pointed him in the direction of the victim who had been stripped of his shoes and wallet and left on the side of the road unable to communicate, charging papers said.

Investigators said once in custody, Wise told an officer that the initial crash happened on Pacific Highway South between 312th and 320th streets and that they “'brawled' a few times.”

Charging papers said police located video of the suspect and victim cars on 14 city cameras and “observed inconsistencies in the suspect’s statements about how this altercation started.” Police said city cameras, at one point, captured video of the victim losing control of his car and crashing while apparently trying to escape the suspects, who were able to catch up to the driver nearby.

King County prosecutors said the men, who both have “significant criminal history” and were in jail as of Tuesday night, would be arraigned in November.

An update on the victim’s condition was not immediately available Tuesday night.

Cox Media Group