A 43-year-old California woman is facing felony charges in the July 13 attack against soul singer Lester Chambers at a local music festival.
According to authorities, Dinalynn Andrews-Potter of Barstow has been charged with assault and elderly abuse after rushing the stage at the Bay Area Blues Festival and knocking down the 73-year-old musician. Chambers had just dedicated Curtis Mayfield‘s “People Get Ready” to slain Florida teen Trayvon Martin hours before George Zimmerman was acquitted.
Chambers was taken to the hospital, suffering bruised ribs and nerve damage. Andrews-Potter was arrested and cited but released shortly after.
Police said Andrews-Potter complained of a stress disorder and that a “repetitive part of the song caused her to snap.”
Chambers and his family wanted his attacker to be charged with a hate crime, but authorities said they were not sure if she had any racially-motivated intent.
Naomi Finn, Chambers’ daughter, told Fuse, “Of course we wish that the Hayward Police Department had of looked into the matter a little bit more and taken the allegations of hate crime more seriously.”
