By Peter Yankowski Richard Chumney ,
1 hours ago
Matthew Colby, 32, of Kent. (Courtesy of the Southington Police Department)
SOUTHINGTON — A Kent man has been charged with a hate crime after hurling racial and homophobic slurs at a local Walmart and then spitting in a person’s face several times, police said.
Matthew Colby, 32, was taken into custody on Friday in connection with a disturbance at the store on Queen Street on Sunday, according to a Facebook post shared by the Southington Police Department.
Police said officers responded to the Walmart around 11:23 a.m. and observed the suspect leaving the plaza in a white Ford Fusion with no registration plates. They said the driver refused to pull over and fled the area.
Investigators determined that the suspect, later identified as Colby, approached a male victim in the store’s parking lot before uttering racial and homophobic slurs, the department said.
Police said Colby then spit in the victim's face several times. Officials said he also damaged several merchandise displays inside the Walmart, and kicked and damaged two parked vehicles while leaving.
Colby was identified after police released a photo of the suspect that showed a ...