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Judge dismisses hate crime charges against Sean Urbanski in killing of Bowie State student

Urbanski is accused of killing U.S. Army Lt. Richard Collins III at the University of Maryland in May 2017.

WASHINGTON — A judge on Tuesday dismissed hate crime charges against Sean Urbanski, the man accused of killing U.S. Army Lt. Richard Collins III at the University of Maryland in May 2017, a Prince George's County official confirms to WUSA9.

Urbanski was charged with first-degree murder and a hate crime.   

RELATED: Police: He was stabbed by a white man while waiting for a bus. Now a jury will decide if this Md. student's death was a hate crime

Three friends were waiting at a bus stop on the University of Maryland’s campus around 3 a.m. on a Saturday when a stranger approached them, screaming.

After fatally stabbing Collins, 23, Urbanski folded the knife, slipped it into his pocket and sat down on a bench until police arrived, a prosecutor said. 

Urbanski was arrested at the bus stop, 50 feet from where Collins was dying.

RELATED: ‘He was killed because of his race’ | Why this claim is often tough to prove in court

Prince George’s County prosecutors argued Collins’ killing was a hate crime carried out by a man biased against black people. Urbanski liked a Facebook group called "Alt-Reich: Nation" and saved at least six pictures of racist memes on his phone, prosecutors said.

Jury selection in the trial began Dec. 9.

RELATED: What you need to know about the Richard Collins murder investigation

Credit: WUSA
Army 2nd Lt. Richard Collins III

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