The man arrested for seven separate attacks on women in Bushwick between August 2020 and January 2021 has been charged with committing hate crimes in a 52-count indictment.
District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said Wednesday charges against Khari Covington, 29, include assault, strangulation and burglary as hate crimes, and other charges for allegedly attacking seven women, allegedly based on their gender and light skin color.
"This defendant's alleged violent and unprovoked attacks endangered the women he targeted and caused widespread fear in the community," Gonzalez said. "I am committed to prosecuting all hate crimes where victims, including as alleged in this case, are targeted because of their gender, skin color or race."
Covington lived in a housing complex near where the majority of the attacks took place at the Morgan Avenue subway station. On January 4, Covington attacked an employee at a Wilson Avenue smoke shop, who was able to identify the defendant to the police. He was arrested the next day.
Gonzalez said Covington was a mandatory violent persistent felony offender. His bail was set at $150,000 and he faces up to 25 years to life in prison if he is convicted.
