One of two hate crime suspects arrested in July — after allegedly shouting “white lives matter,” performing a Nazi salute and vandalizing an occupied vehicle with a shovel in Torrance — is scheduled to make his initial court appearance Monday.
Gregory Edward Howell, 29, of Carson, was charged Friday with one count each of assault with a deadly weapon and vandalism, and is also facing a hate crime allegation. He is set to be arraigned at the Torrance courthouse, and prosecutors say they will ask for bail of $75,000.
If convicted as charged, Howell would face up to seven years and eight months in prison.
Howell and his wife Rachelle Howell were recorded in a road rage incident about 10:30 p.m. on July 22, according to the Torrance Police Department. It was not immediately clear whether the D.A.’s office planned to charge Rachelle Howell.
In a video circulated on social media, the two suspects were standing outside their white pickup truck at a stoplight near Artesia Boulevard and Prairie Avenue, according to Sgt. Alexander Martinez.
The woman in the video said to the victims, who were recording from inside their vehicle, “White lives matter (expletive)” and “only white lives matter (expletive).” The male suspect is seen in the video giving a Nazi salute and saying “white power.”
The suspects briefly got back in their vehicle, then the man exited, grabbed a shovel from the pickup’s bed and hit the victims’ car, according to Martinez. The vehicle sustained damage to the driver’s side mirror.
One of the victims filed a police report about 10:50 a.m. the next day. The Howells were arrested on July 31 and posted bail the same day, according to sheriff’s jail records.
The race of the victims was not immediately confirmed, Martinez said, but a Twitter user claiming to be the female victim’s cousin said that the male victim is Black.
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