MIAMI — A homeless man accused of a random antisemitic attack on a Jewish day school teacher in Miami Beach appeared in court on Thursday, one day after his arrest.
Proceedings revealed that the alleged attack is not the first time Slemons Graves, 33, has been accused of spewing hate while committing a crime.
According to police, the attack happened at 7:40 a.m. Tuesday, just blocks away from where the victim works, Lehrman Community Day School at 727 77th St. on North Beach.
Investigators said the victim was wearing a Star of David necklace and using her cellphone when Graves snatched her phone, hit her and spat on her.
According to an arrest report, Graves told the teacher, “Move, you dirty Jew.”
The victim ran to the school and Graves ran away, police said.
“The fact (that) the man said ‘dirty Jew’ before he attacked an innocent teacher, it’s really sad and disturbing,” Lehrman parent Leah Grossman told Local 10 News.
In court on Thursday, prosecutors noted that Graves was arrested in his hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee in 2024 after he was accused of using racial slurs and throwing a hot cup of coffee on an employee at a store.
He had been living in South Florida for two months at the time of his arrest on charges of strong-armed robbery and battery with prejudice.
“Based on what I read here, these allegations are rather concerning to the court, that somebody can be attacked for their religion, walking to their job at 7:40 in the morning,” Miami-Dade Judge Mindy Glazer said.
Glazer set Graves’ bond at $40,000 and ordered him to stay away from the woman and the school.
Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner told Local 10 News that he has spoken with senior prosecutors, and said, “We are taking this very seriously, arresting him, and making sure this is prosecuted to the fullest extent, including as a hate crime.”
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