Richard Collins III Murdered by University of Maryland Student Who Is a Member for Facebook Group the ‘Alt Reich’.
Richard Collins III last week had been commissioned as a Second Lieutenant from the Bowie State ROTC program. While visiting friends at the University of Maryland Collins was murdered by Sean Urbanski on a sidewalk while waiting for a ride. Urbanski, 22, is a member of a Facebook group called the Alt Reich that shared many racists views of non-whites, especially blacks. While this could be an instance of wrong place at the wrong time, it’s hard to deny the connection of race as Collins was black, the attack was unprovoked, and Urbanski was walking with a knife.
A lawyer for a University of Maryland student accused of fatally stabbing a Bowie State University student said alcohol and substance abuse may have been factors in a case that also is being investigated as a hate crime.
The attack on Richard W. Collins III unnerved students and administrators at both universities, which are in the middle of spring commencement celebrations. What should have been a joyous occasion turned into mourning for friends and family of Collins, 23, who was slain two days after being commissioned in the U.S. Army and days before he was to graduate from Bowie State.
Collins, an African American, was visiting two friends on the U-Md. campus Saturday when police say he was attacked by Sean Urbanski, 22, a white U-Md. student.
Urbanski, of Severna Park, Md., was charged with first- and second-degree murder and first-degree assault in what police said was a “totally unprovoked” attack.
Prince George’s County District Court Judge Patrice E. Lewis said Monday that there was “clear and convincing” evidence that Urbanski “is an absolute danger to the community” before ordering that he remain in jail pending trial. But the judge said he could be considered for GPS-monitored release at a later date.
Urbanski’s attorney, William C. Brennan, told the judge that “alcohol and substance abuse may have played a significant role in all of this.”
Brennan had asked the judge to order GPS monitoring and other release conditions. Brennan said his client has no criminal record and deep ties to the Maryland community.
On Sunday, University of Maryland police announced the FBI’s work in the case to determine whether the attack was a hate crime. Urbanski appeared to have been involved in an online Facebook group that posts racist material, police and FBI officials said.
The hate-crime aspect remains under review, but any charges along those lines would not be filed until the homicide investigation concludes, law enforcement officials said.
“We want to be careful that we do not speculate in any way, shape, form or fashion,” Prince George’s State’s Attorney Angela D. Alsobrooks said Monday. “This is an investigation that we cannot afford to get wrong.”
Students and faculty at Bowie State held a candlelight vigil in Collins’s memory Monday evening — the night before he was to graduate and hours after Urbanski made his first court appearance.
Collins and his friends were waiting for an Uber ride on Regents Drive near Montgomery Hall about 3 a.m. Saturday when they heard Urbanski screaming as he approached the trio, according to police charging documents.
“Step left, step left if you know what’s best for you,” Urbanski told Collins, according to charging papers.
Collins said, “No,” according to police. Urbanski continued to come toward the group and then stabbed Collins in the chest, police said.
Collins was taken to a hospital, where he died. Urbanski was picked up by Prince George’s County police about 50 feet from where Collins had collapsed, court papers state. Police recovered a knife from Urbanski’s front right pocket, police said.
Collins, from Calvert County, was airborne certified and a member of the university’s ROTC, said a family spokesman, the Rev. Darryl L. Godlock. Collins was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army last week. Video on Facebook of the commissioning ceremony showed Collins on stage in his dress-blue uniform and his parents pinning lieutenant bars on their son. Before leaving the stage, his mother gave him a peck on the cheek.
“The parents are totally devastated that their young son, that was at the peak of his career about to take off, and his life was taken away senselessly,” said Godlock, a pastor at Calvert County Baptist Church in Prince Frederick, Md.
Lt. Col. Joel Thomas, a professor of military science at Bowie State, called Collins “my guy” and described him as an “outstanding” cadet and leader on the campus. He told the crowd to grieve and mourn, to remember and laugh, and to celebrate Collins’s life by “being great in everything you do.”
Steve
Steve is an affordable multifamily housing professional that is also the co-founder of Whiskey Congress. Steve has written for national publications such as The National Marijuana News and other outlets as a guest blogger on topics covering sports, politics, and cannabis. Steve loves whiskey, cigars, and uses powerlifting as an outlet to deal with the fact that no one listens to his brilliant ideas.
