BOULDER, Colo.—Prosecutors have declined to file a charge of bias-motivated crime against a University of Colorado student accused of punching another student who is half Asian.
The Daily Camera reports () 19-year-old Thomas Frank Ross is charged with two counts of second-degree assault.
CU police had called the incident a bias-motivated attack, but the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office hasn’t filed a bias charge.
Witnesses told police Ross and 18-year-old Chris Tetreault were in a student’s room on Sept. 30 with a group playing video games when Ross said a bad smell in the room was because of Tetreault eating Asian noodles.
Tetreault says he swore at Ross. Witnesses said Ross choked and punched Tetreault.
A police report says Ross told officers he didn’t know Tetreault was half Asian.
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Information from: Daily Camera,
