May 8, 2026 at 6:00 am Updated May 8, 2026 at 6:00 am A Seattle man is accused of committing a hate crime against a Black QFC employee in Ballard, referring to the worker with an anti-Black slur and driving his car toward the employee, according to King County prosecutors. Jack Vafi, 27, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to two counts of hate crime in connection with the December incident. According to charging documents, he repeatedly used the racist slur against the 27-year-old employee and came back the next day to allegedly threaten the employee. Vafi was charged in March and arrested April 28 after a King County Superior Court judge issued a bench warrant. He is being held in King County Jail in lieu of $5,050 bail. According to a Seattle police probable cause document, police responded to a call from the victim at the QFC about an attempted assault on the morning of Dec. 11.…