TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Hate crime alleged after Hillsborough road rage incident

ADVERTISEMENT

TBO.com Staff

Published: June 22, 2009

After a road rage incident Friday afternoon, a black man committed a hate crime against a white woman, calling her a "white cracker" and throwing a bottle through her rear window, Hillsborough County deputies say.

Deputies arrested Marcus Osley, 23, of Riverview, and Spencer Elliott Thorpe, 21, of Lithia, at 5:30 p.m. Friday. Both were charged with throwing a deadly missile into a conveyance.

Osley's act is considered a hate crime, sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said.

The incident began when a woman was driving a Ford Explorer near Providence Road and Providence Ridge Boulevard. A vehicle Osley and Thorpe were in rode aggressively and cut the woman off, Carter said. The men pulled up alongside the woman's vehicle.

Osley called the woman a white cracker and threw a brown bottle at the victim's Ford, shattering the vehicle's rear window, Carter said.

Thorpe helped Osley flee the scene, deputies say.

The men didn't know the woman prior to the incident, Carter said.

The woman followed the men's vehicle as it left the scene, and she called 911 to alert authorities to their location. Deputies will not release the woman's 911 call to the media because it is part of the investigation.

Osley also was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a motor vehicle and one count of petty theft. Details on those charges, which came from a May 15 incident in Brandon, aren't immediately available.

Osley and Thorpe remain in Orient Road Jail. Osley's bail is set at $20,500; Thorpe's is set at $7,500.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT