Man 'scared' by message

Ottawa County District Judge Richard Kloote said Tuesday he found enough probable cause against Kenneth Ray Schmidt to bind the case over to Circuit Court.

Schmidt's arraignment in Circuit Court is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. July 2 in front of Judge Jon Hulsing.

Schmidt is accused of writing “we don’t want (N-word)s working here” on the wall of a unit at Williamsburg Court Apartments in Grand Haven on May 8.

Apartment maintenance worker Courtney Alexander said he was preparing an apartment for a new tenant when the incident occurred. He left to move supplies and discovered the racial slur when he returned.

“When I came in and opened the door, on the inside of the door was a racial slur,” Alexander said.

Alexander, an African-American, said he felt intimidated and harassed after seeing the slur scrawled on the wall.

“When I opened the door, it kind of scared me,” he said.

Alexander said he quickly took a photograph of the message, reported the incident to apartment management, then painted over it.

“When I saw it, I ... sprayed over it because I didn’t want any other residents to see it,” he said.

Alexander testified that he had seen Schmidt around the complex earlier in the day, but had no interaction with him. He also testified that there was no apparent bad blood between the two of them.

According to Grand Haven Department of Public Safety investigators, Schmidt was linked to the May 8 incident because of a complaint they received earlier this year. Officer Brian Dalman said Schmidt admitted to leaving a racially insensitive note on the door of an African-American neighbor on Feb. 5.

Defense attorney Jim Piper declined to comment on the case until he had more time to talk to his client.

To read more of this story, see today’s print or e-edition of the Grand Haven Tribune.