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A Graham man faces hate crime charges after allegedly chasing a cook around a Parkland restaurant early Tuesday while yelling racial slurs and threatening to kill the man, according to Pierce County prosecutors.
The 41-year-old man faces charges of malicious harassment, fourth-degree assault and resisting arrest. Court Commissioner Meagan Foley ordered him to undergo a mental health evaluation and reappear in court next week.
The man is on post-prison supervision and has prior convictions for second-degree assault and third-degree assault.
According to charging documents and sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer:
Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to Denny’s restaurant at 10802 Pacific Ave. S. just before midnight for three reports of an assault.
A deputy found the Graham man being held by the straps of his denim overalls by another customer. The deputy tried to distract the man to get him to turn around so he could be handcuffed.
“Hey, what’s that?” the deputy asked, pointing out the window behind the man.
Without turning around, the man said, “That’s a ...” using a racial slur.