A white man with a 30-year history of mental illness was convicted of a hate crime Thursday for intentionally striking a young black woman with his car as she rode her bicycle on the sidewalk.
Thomas Cosby, 58, of Port Orange was found guilty of aggravated battery in the crime that took place on July 14, 2008 when he struck Nekedia Cato, 27, with his vehicle leaving her with a steel rod in her leg.
According to reports, Cosby drove the 1998 Chevy Malibu into Cato on the sidewalk, then hit a tree and a house, rolling several times. Cosby said he turned his car “to take him out,” (referring to Cato). Cosby complained to police at the scene about black people making fun of him and having sex with his wife and girlfriend.
“I am tired of it,” he told an officer. “They should go back to where they came from.” He said black people “need to die.”
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