Man accused of calling cab driver 'terrorist,' beating him pleads not guilty

SEATTLE (AP) — A man accused of beating a cab driver and telling him to "go back to your own country" pleaded not guilty Monday in Seattle to charges of a hate crime and assault.

The King County prosecutor's office says the next court hearing for 26-year-old Jesse Alexander Fleming is Jan. 26.

He's accused of beating the driver so severely on Dec. 7 that he lost control and rolled into several parked cars and an apartment building.

The 34-year-old driver is originally from Somalia and has been in the United States for more than a decade.