Man arrested in assault, hate crime against Chesterfield woman

CHESTERFIELD, Va. (WWBT) – A man is facing several charges after a woman was assaulted at Richmond National Battlefield Park last month.

Police say the incident happened on June 2o at around 9:30 a.m. at Drewry’s Bluff.

“A woman was walking her dogs on the trail when she was approached by a male suspect. He tried to speak to her, but she did not respond; he became angry and began assaulting her. The victim screamed for help, and the suspect stopped the assault, took the victim’s phone, and fled,” Chesterfield Police said.

During the investigation, police identified Horace Stephenson III, 43, of Alexandria, Va., as the suspect.

On Wednesday, Stephenson was arrested in Maryland. Police say he is awaiting to be extradited to Chesterfield.

Stephenson is facing the following charges:

• Strangulation
• Robbery
• Illegal use of tear gas
• Assault and battery
• Hate crime
• Obstruction for summoning 911

Chesterfield Police said the hate crime is gender-based and comes after the victim said Stephenson made yelled derogatory comments based on the fact that she was a woman.

“There were some comments made specifically about her being a woman and things escalated from there,” Chesterfield Police Sgt. Winfred Lewis said.

The victim did try to protect herself.

”Unfortunately, the victim’s pepper spray was taken from her and used against her,” Lewis said.

It’s unclear why he was in Chesterfield on the morning of June 2o.

Luckily, a man walking in the park heard the woman screaming and called for help.

”It did get an onlooker to come to the area who was able to notify us and let us know exactly where the scene was that we needed to come and investigate further, and you know I can’t speak to what the subject’s motivation was in stopping the attack, but it would be fair to assume that probably had something to do with it,” Sgt. Lewis said.

Police said the victim wore headphones while walking with her dogs at the park.

Sgt Lewis said the victim is doing ok, and it’s likely Stephenson may have been involved in other assaults across the area.