Watch CBS News

CT Banker Faces Assault Charge As Hate Crime After Cab Ride Home From Manhattan

DARIEN, CT (CBSNewYork) - When William Bryan Jennings, an executive with Morgan Stanley, hopped into a cab in Manhattan, he instructed the driver to take him to his home in Darien.

WCBS 880 Connecticut Bureau Chief Fran Schneidau On The Story

Podcast

But when they arrived, the cabbie set a very high price for the trip. The driver says it was $200, but Jennings' lawyer claims it was $300.

Jennings refused to pay, and says his attorney Gene Riccio, that prompted the cabbie to step on it and head back to New York with Jennings still in the rear seat.

Riccio says Jennings resorted to pulling out his pen knife.

"The cab driver tried to grab the knife and, at that point stopped the vehicle, and my client was able to escape," said Riccio.

Darien police say Jennings stabbed the cabbie in the hand, but Riccio says the hand wound occurred as the two wrestled to gain control of the knife.

Riccio says at no time did Jennings disparage the driver's racial heritage, as is charged by Darien police.

Though the driver made the complaint on December 22, 2011, charged were not filed until Thursday, March 1, 2012.

Jennings was charged with assault as a hate crime. He was released on bond and is due back in court on March 7.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.