71-Year-Old Texas Woman Charged With Hate Crime

RICHLAND HILLS, Texas (AP) - A 71-year-old North Texas woman accused of beating her neighbor with a cane is being charged with a hate crime.

Richland Hills police say Wanda Derby repeatedly hit a 25-year-old man with her wooden cane and used it to choke him.

Police say she was angry Wednesday night and yelled derogatory terms for a gay man. Authorities say the victim, who is her son's roommate, had bruises on his throat and body.

Derby is also accused of hitting the man's mother when she arrived to help.

Derby faces charges of assault and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon enhanced as a hate crime.

She remained jailed on $11,500 bond Thursday in Richland Hills, a Fort Worth suburb. It's unclear if she has an attorney.