Homeless man accused of spitting on, yelling racial slurs at disabled woman

SEATTLE — A 50-year-old man who lists a homeless shelter as his address was charged in King County Superior Court with a felony hate crime.

The hate crime is alleged to have happened around 7 p.m. on Nov. 14 in Seattle.

In charging documents, prosecutors said Robert Joseph Campo threatened, spat on and yelled racial slurs at a disabled woman.

Police said the woman was riding on a scooter on the street outside her apartment when she noticed a man laying down and suspected something might be wrong with him.

"She rode over and he called out to her to 'Come here. 'She went closer and bent over. The suspect then called her a black b------(slur) and spat on her. His spittle hit the front of her coat. He told her that he hoped she died," police wrote in a probable cause document.

Police said the woman then went to a nearby Safeway and, when she returned to her residence, she pointed out the suspect to a friend.

"The suspect then called both (the victim) and her friend "black b------" and continued to use the (slur). He pulled his pants down and exposed his bare buttocks to them," police said.

The victim told police Campo called her the racial slur about 30 times, according to a probable cause document.

Police said that, when they arrived at the scene, they spoke to the victim's friend, who also reported hearing the slurs.

Campo was then booked into the King County Jail, where he remains in lieu of $15,000 bail.

His arraignment, where he will enter a plea, is expected later this year.

According to prosecutors, Campo's criminal history includes convictions in Texas for burglary of habitation and misdemeanor criminal mischief in 2015 and a misdemeanor liquor violation in 2016.

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