An Ohio man is headed to jail after using racial slurs against a Black woman who confronted him after he struck her car.
A Stark County judge sentenced Johnathan R. Hydock to eight months in jail Wednesday, condemning his actions as “reprehensible and unacceptable,” The Canton Repository reported. Hydock, who was filmed calling the woman the N-word before speeding off, previously pleaded guilty to ethnic intimidation, as well as aggravated menacing and failure to stop after an accident.
Johnathan R. Hydock, 26, pleaded guilty to ethnic intimidation, aggravated menacing and failure to stop after an accident, both misdemeanors. (Image courtesy of Stark County Jail)
“They are the embodiment of hate,” Common Pleas Judge Kristin Farmer told the defendant of his racist outburst.
The incident unfolded in the Canton suburb of Alliance in August when victim Jolean Dailey said Hydock randomly “bumped” her car then fled the scene. She followed him to a nearby parking lot, where she claims he shouted “white f—–g power” at her.
Dailey posted about the incident on Facebook, writing: “He was about to take something out of his glove box, but his girlfriend stopped him. They just took off again, smh. I can’t believe this just happened.”
In court filings, prosecutors said Hydock threatened to harm the woman and knowingly led her “to believe [that] he would cause serious physical harm to her after he hit her car.” Authorities said he then switched places with his passenger, his girlfriend, to make it appear as if she were driving when Dailey’s car was hit.
The girlfriend, who was later charged with obstructing official business, confirmed Dailey’s fears when she told police that Hydock was attempting to grab his handgun from the glove compartment before she intervened.
Before Hydock’s sentencing, the victim recommended that he be required to undergo rehabilitative services “to show people are people.”
“There’s really no program for teaching diversity,” Dailey said of the justice system, arguing it was just as important for Hydock to learn about diversity as it is for offenders to seek treatment for drug and alcohol addiction.
Keith Warstler, the defendant’s attorney, said his client was remorseful over what happened and that his mouth had simply “got the best of him.”
“He has expressed to me he truly doesn’t (hold) those feelings in his heart,” Warstler said. “To say this was a bad day for him would be an understatement.”
