William James Wilson, of Fort Worth, Texas, has been charged with multiple hate crimes and assault offenses for allegedly attacking two same-sex couples at Detroit’s MGM Grand hotel and casino earlier this month.
The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office said the attack happened just after 1 a.m. on July 13 as the couples stood in the MGM valet area.
The couples — Chelsi Way and her wife, Celia Haueter, and Way’s brother, David Supal, with his fiancé, Zach Chearhart — had parked at the MGM to attend a concert for Chearhart’s 30th birthday. After returning to the valet, the couples were approached by two apparently intoxicated men.
Way told FOX affiliate WJBK they tried to be nice at first, but the men were incoherent and aggressive, attempting to put their arms around the women.
“I want to say the reason why he did come to us and try to start stuff with us is we were holding hands and [David and Zach] were holding hands,” Way said of the encounter. “Then he comes over to David and tries to do the same thing, and David is like, ‘No, we are good,’ and that’s when everything turned into a disaster.”
One of the men — later identified as Wilson — pulled out his phone and began filming them while hurling slurs at the couples.
“The taller guy started saying, like, ‘You, he, she.’ Everything kind of escalated. At that point when he started shouting slurs at me about my gender and what I identify as, is when it became like a really big problem,” Way told WJBK.
The women asked the men to leave, but Wilson allegedly punched Haueter, knocking her to the ground. When she tried to get up, he allegedly hit her again, leaving her unconscious for five minutes. He then allegedly struck her three or four more times while she was on the ground.
Way, Supal, and Chearhart tried to intervene but were assaulted as well.
“I threw my body in front of her ’cause I seen the haymakers he was throwing,” Supal told CBS News. “I took about 3-4 shots.”
The repeated punches left Haueter with a concussion and more than 20 stitches.
“The doctor literally told her at the hospital that if he had hit her harder, her brain could have literally severed,” Way told CBS.
The attackers fled, and Way followed them for three miles while calling 911. Police arrested Wilson, but the man with him, who has not yet been identified, escaped.
Wilson was released on $100,000 bond. His attorney, Adam Clements, told The Detroit News he is waiting to review security footage before taking a position on the case. He described Wilson — who works in construction and was visiting Detroit for work — as a “family man” with no criminal history.
If convicted, the 26-year-old faces up to 10 years in prison for assault with intent to do great bodily harm. Each hate crime charge carries up to five years.
Way and Chearhart expressed disbelief that Wilson made bond, with Chearhart noting the couples have not gone out socially since the attack.
They said MGM security should have done more to de-escalate or intervene after Wilson struck Haueter. Nearly a dozen people watched the attack, but no one — security or bystanders — stepped in to help.
“I just want it out there that like nobody’s safe coming here, this is not a safe place. Even though they advertise that they have security, it’s not safe,” Way told Detroit NBC affiliate WDIV.
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