Staten Island Teen Accused of Beating Mexican Immigrant May Have Hate Crime Charge Dropped

Staten Island prosecutors are moving to dismiss hate crime charges against a 15-year-old accused of robbing and assaulting a Mexican immigrant while yelling racist epithets.

The alleged July 31 beatdown of Christian Vazquez, 18, came on the heels of numerous other bias attacks in the borough and sparked increased police presence and community outreach.

But Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan is set to announce Tuesday afternoon that assault and robbery charges as hate crimes will be dismissed against Derrian Williams, also known as Romeo Stevens.

A source cited “significant omissions in the version of events leading up to the incident” as a reason for the dismissal, adding that the attack “was not completely fabricated.”

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