West Bloomfield valet company co-owner charged with hate crime over slur written on Novi driveway
Prosecutors say surveillance video shows Ayham Nadeem Assi, 22, writing a racial slur on a Black couple's driveway in Novi on Sept. 6, after the couple complained about party guests' cars parked on their grass.
By OCJ Staff
A 22-year-old West Bloomfield man who co-owns a valet company has been charged with a hate crime, accused of writing a racial slur on a Black couple's driveway in Novi, according to CBS Detroit and WHMI.
Ayham Nadeem Assi faces one felony count of hate crime. The charge, announced Friday, Oct. 16, by the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office, carries up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.
Charges are accusations; everyone charged is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
What prosecutors allege
The case dates to Sept. 6. A neighbor of the Novi couple was holding a party and had hired Assi's valet company, CBS Detroit reported.
The couple had told neighbors that cars were being parked on their grass. Later, they found an anti-Black slur written on the apron of their driveway, prosecutors say.
Home surveillance video shows Assi walking up to the driveway and writing the slur, according to prosecutors. The couple told investigators they felt intimidated and singled out because of their race.
"Acts of racial intimidation are unacceptable," Prosecutor Karen McDonald said in announcing the charge.
What's next
Where and when Assi will be arraigned, his bond and his next court date had not been reported as of Monday. Whether he has an attorney was also not reported.
The Journal has covered another recent hate-crime case in the county. Read about the Troy library case.
This story uses reporting from CBS Detroit, WHMI and Hoodline.