A white Ohio man has been charged with a hate crime for threatening to shoot a Black DoorDash driver.
James Rhodes was captured on video earlier this month shouting at the driver, Kiauna Larkins, who was delivering an order to the Wyndham Ridge Apartments complex in Stow, Ohio, on April 17th. Larkins drove her car around Rhodes, which is what seemingly set him off. In one clip, Rhodes is seen exiting his vehicle and verbally attacking the woman, who had her 3-year-old daughter in the car with her.
“Get the f–k out of here,” Rhodes yelled. “I pay $1,000 a month here. You can’t. You make $1,000 in two months. F–k you. You’re a dumb Black f—–g n—-r b—h. F–k you.”
His racially charged rant then turns frightening when he threatens to kill Larkins.
“Yeah, and I’m racist, I’m a racist motherf—-r,” he yells. “I got an AK-47 right now in my f—–g car. I’ll blow your f—–g head off.”
According to court documents, Rhodes has been charged with aggravated menacing, which is a first-degree misdemeanor, and ethnic intimidation, which is a felony. The 53-year-old has since pleaded not guilty and was released from jail after posting a $10,000 bond.
After viewing the footage, the owner of Wyndham Ridge Apartments filed a complaint to evict Rhodes. The complex says that Rhodes broke his lease agreement “by causing the premises to be used for an unlawful purpose.” Following the incident, Wyndham Ridge Apartments owner says that the property has received “persistent phone calls” and calls for a boycott in response to Rhodes threatening the woman.
The mayor of Stow, John Pribonic, also slammed Rhodes’ behavior, saying that the city has “no place for violence, racism, or intolerance.”
