A Washington, D.C. man has been found guilty of bias-related assault after a slur-spewing tirade at a Black woman he almost ran over while she was walking her service dog, said the Justice Department in a statement on Thursday.
Gueorgui Iskrenov's conviction comes after a three-day trial over an incident which occurred in 2020.
"According to the government’s evidence, on July 20, 2020, at approximately 2 p.m., the victim, an African-American female, was walking her service dog and crossing the exit ramp of her apartment complex by the Wharf in Southwest, Washington," said the statement. "Iskrenov drove his SUV up the exit ramp at a high rate of speed, almost hitting the victim and her dog. After the victim told him to be careful, Iskrenov began screaming racist and sexist epithets. Iskrenov then intentionally spit into the victim’s face, with the spit landing on her glasses and in her hair. Iskrenov drove away and was arrested 23 days later after he was positively identified."
According to the statement, prosecutors at the trial demonstrated "that Iskrenov had a history of racist tirades against African-American neighbors."
Hate crimes across the country have made national news over the last several years.
Last year, a man in Volusia County, Florida was arrested after screaming racial slurs at two Black teenagers and smashing out their car windows with a pipe. And another man in New York City threatened a multiracial group with a knife after they parked their car in Staten Island, only to be knocked out cold and then arrested.