A Wayne County man has been indicted on serious charges, including attempted murder and assault as a hate crime, following a violent, unprovoked attack on a hiker in Perinton last month.
Derrick Van Epps, of Palmyra, was indicted Thursday by a Monroe County grand jury in connection with the June 23 stabbing of Dylan Ghaemi, a Fairport resident, on the Indian Hill Trail.
13 WHAM in Rochester reports that according to court documents, Van Epps and Ghaemi, who did not know each other, had a brief, casual exchange about the weather before Van Epps allegedly approached Ghaemi from behind, pushed him to the ground, and stabbed him multiple times with a hunting knife. Ghaemi was reportedly able to fight off the attacker and escape.
The 30-year-old Van Epps was taken into custody shortly after the incident and remains held at the Monroe County Jail. He is scheduled to be arraigned on July 15.
The indictment includes charges of attempted murder and assault as a hate crime.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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