JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man facing a felony battery charge in connection to an attack on a woman inside an Arlington gas station entered a plea of not guilty when he appeared before a judge for an arraignment Monday, court filings show.
Kevin Williamson has been out of jail on bond. He was originally facing a misdemeanor battery charge, which was later upgraded to a felony.
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Attorney John Phillips, whose firm is representing the 23-year-old victim, Rayme McCoy, in Williamson’s case, had called on the State Attorney’s Office to upgrade Williamson’s charge. They had also wanted the case prosecuted as a hate crime, which the State Attorney’s Office said will not happen.
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Prosecutors said there are two reasons they won’t be classifying this a hate crime: they don’t have evidence that McCoy was “individually targeted” because of her race and because of her own actions just before the attack. The state says they are obligated to only file charges they believe can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt to a jury.
READ: State Attorney’s Office response on hate crime charges
Williamson has a pretrial hearing scheduled for Aug. 4.