A judge on Dec. 1 dismissed a hate crime charge against a man who allegedly stabbed another man on the trolley after he had come to the defense of a gay teenager who was punched and verbally assaulted with anti-gay and other taunts.

San Diego Superior Court Judge Browder Willis III said the epithets uttered by Exodus Bolton, 36, were not just anti-gay but were like a laundry list of profanity-laced insults that did not apply to the 17-year-old victim. According to testimony in the preliminary hearing, Bolton used an anti-African-American term against the victim despite the victim being white. Bolton is African-American.

The teen, who did not testify and was only referred to by the name of Harris, was also called a “punk rocker” and “bitch” for no apparent reason.

The judge ordered Bolton to stand trial for assault with a deadly weapon, making a criminal threat to a woman in an incident three days earlier, two counts of misdemeanor battery, resisting an officer and a new charge of mayhem. The mayhem charge alleges the man who was stabbed suffered a permanent injury and loss of function to his arm in the Oct. 17 incident.

Bolton faces a maximum term of 13 years in prison if he is convicted on all charges, Deputy District Attorney Oscar Garcia said. The prosecutor said he had not yet made a decision about re-filing the hate crime charge.

None of the victims testified, so the only evidence the judge heard came from police officers who recounted what the victims told them.

Oscar said the dismissal of the hate crime charge had nothing to do with the victims not testifying.

“I can’t go into reasons why they didn’t testify,” he said. “In general, there are concerns of parents and … witness availability…. The witnesses wouldn’t be able to add any more.”

Garcia added, “The whole reason we have a Proposition 115 hearing is to spare the victims from being further harassed.”

Prop. 115 was passed by voters in 1990 and allows police officers to testify at hearings about what victims and witnesses said about a crime without requiring them to come to court and testify.

Bolton’s attorney, Stephen Cline, argued that no hate crime was committed and said the hate crime charge was inappropriate. He referred to the assaults as “standard battery” and said the sexual orientation comments “are trivial.”

Cline said the Oct. 17 incident with the teenager was no different than the incident three days prior in which a young woman heard Bolton yell epithets at her while she rode on the trolley. According to police officers, Bolton yelled profanities, called the woman “a faggot” and said he would kill her.

“I take lives. I take souls,” Bolton told the woman, according to police.

Garcia argued unsuccessfully to have the judge not dismiss the hate crime, which he said was the motivation for the crime.

“He was using anti-gay slurs. [The victim] was called a faggot many times. He curled up and took the beatings,” Garcia said. He added that Bolton said something about homosexuality being “an abomination.”

Bolton, who appeared agitated during the hearing, pleaded not guilty to all charges. During the hearing, he kept turning around in his chair and looking at his girlfriend and mother in the audience and other spectators. He was dressed in jail garb, wore leg chains and was handcuffed.

Willis set a trial date for Jan. 19. Bolton remains in county jail on $50,000 bail.

According to testimony, Victor Mendoza, 49, came to the gay teen’s aid when he saw him punched and spit on by Bolton. Officer John “Wes” Morris, who interviewed Mendoza, said Mendoza used his body force to push Bolton away.

Mendoza said he felt “a sharp pain” and thought “some of the punches didn’t feel right,” according to Morris. Mendoza then realized he had been stabbed twice in his left arm and saw Bolton with a knife, the officer said. He then kicked Bolton.

D.A. investigator Khamp Thongrivong testified that he interviewed the doctor who performed surgery on Mendoza. Some nerves were severed and the doctor told him “his arm is useless.” Mendoza is not able to bend or use any fingers and wears an arm sling, Thongrivong said. The doctor said there is no guarantee of full function in the future.

Officer Alexandr Nezgodinsky testified he responded to a radio call about the stabbing and saw Bolton carrying a tequila bottle after he left the trolley. Bolton was arrested, and a green pocket knife with blood stains was found in his pants pocket, Nezgodinsky said.