Community members gathered in Wayne County on Sunday to support a 70-year-old assault victim after police said he was attacked by a neighbor in Newark.
Relatives identified the victim as Johnny White and said he remains hospitalized but is doing well, moving and talking.
Newark police said Brandon Watt, 39, of Newark, is accused of attacking White during a disturbance Tuesday on Siegrist Street. Police said officers responded around 4:50 p.m. for a report of an assault involving a two-by-four and found the victim with significant facial injuries.
Investigators said Watt and White, who live in the same neighborhood, were involved in a verbal altercation when Watt used racial slurs and attacked White as he retreated toward the side yard of his home.
Police said Watt struck White from behind and punched him several more times, causing a fractured eye socket, broken nose and fractured jaw. A two-by-four with what appeared to be blood on it was recovered at the scene, police said.
Authorities said the case is not being investigated as a hate crime. Police also tied Watt to a June 1 harassment complaint involving the same victim, in which the victim told police a man threatened him while using racial slurs.
Watt was charged with second-degree assault, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon and endangering the welfare of a child after police consulted with the Wayne County District Attorney's Office.
At Sunday's demonstration, White's daughter, Jewel Perkins, said she was shocked by the attack.
"It was shocking, but in this day and age, it's really not surprising," Perkins said. "I deal with it every day. It's sad, people don't know you. And they judge you. I couldn't believe a guy 30 years younger could hate him so much."
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