Hate crime charges filed against two men who viciously beat and robbed a Black man in Federal Way

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. - Two men are facing hate crime and other charges after they reportedly viciously beat and robbed a Black man overnight Tuesday, yelling racial epithets as they kicked him in the head. 

According to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Eric Wise and Travis Phillips, both of whom have lengthy criminal histories, are charged with first-degree robbery and hate crimes for the reported attack in Federal Way. 

It's the 46th hate crime charge filed this year by the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, up from the 37 hate crime cases in 2019. 

Police reports say Wise and Phillips were rear-ended by the victim, who reportedly took off after the crash. That's when they chased him and later told police that "we beat his a*s" and used racial slurs to describe him. 

"They chased a Black man in pursuit for over 10 miles," court documents state. "When they caught him they began beating him, yelling racial epithets as they did so ... They stripped him of his wallet and his shoes and left him on the side of the road in a puddle of blood. When questioned about it, Defendant Phillips proudly proclaimed he did these crimes because the victim was a Black man."

The victim had to be taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. 

Wise and Phillips are being held on $500,000 bails. 

"As we argued in court documents, the defendants are a threat to our community and both pose a significant danger to the people of King County," the prosecutor's office said in a prepared statement. "The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office is focused on holding them accountable before a jury."