Police: Meridian resident hurled racial slurs, threats toward African-American man
An Idaho man is in jail after he allegedly hurled racial slurs and threatened violence against an African-American man on Wednesday in Meridian.
Jeremiah Lance Anderson, a 38-year-old Meridian resident, was booked into the Ada County Jail on one felony count of malicious harassment and a misdemeanor count of false impersonation.
Around 9:50 a.m., police in Meridian were called to a residence the 300 block of Cherry Lane after receiving reports of a fight.
Officers spoke with the victim, an African-American man, who told police that Anderson approached him and “called him racial slurs and repeatedly threatened violence upon him because of his race,” according to a news release from the Meridian Police Department. The man also told police that Anderson does not live in the neighborhood where the incident occurred.
Other witnesses told police similar stories, corroborating the account that Anderson allegedly used racial slurs and threatened the man with violence.
When police talked with Anderson at the scene, they allege he gave officers a false name and a false date of birth. He was arrested shortly after and taken to the Ada jail.
As of Thursday morning, Anderson is still in police custody, according to online jail records.
