Posted at 7:31 p.m. PDT Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2001
Flag-waving pair charged with hate crimes for attack on Hispanic man
LANCASTER, Calif. (AP) -- A 34-year-old man and his nephew were charged with hate crimes Tuesday after they allegedly chased a Hispanic man home, kicked in his front door and beat him as they shouted anti-Middle Eastern slurs.
Timothy Martin was charged with one count of assault with a deadly weapon. He and his nephew, Mark Martin, 20, both were arraigned on felony counts of assault and first-degree burglary. Mark Martin also was charged with one count of misdemeanor battery.
All the charges had hate crime allegations, said Deputy District Attorney Olivia Rosales.
The younger Martin was in custody on $100,000 bail Tuesday and the elder Martin was held on $150,000 bail.
Gerard Pimentel, 47, was driving home about 9:15 p.m. Friday when two men began pursuing him in a white truck, which carried a large American flag waving from a pole, authorities said. The truck bumped Pimentel's car repeatedly as the pair followed Pimentel off state Highway 14 and to his home.
The men allegedly kicked in Pimentel's door and beat him as they, apparently thinking he was of Middle East descent, yelled anti-Iranian statements at him, authorities said. Pimentel suffered minor scrapes and bruises before police arrived, said Sgt. Katherine Voyer with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
Members of Pimentel's family apparently were home at the time of the attack.
Hate crimes are exceptionally difficult to prove, Voyer said, but the suspects in this case made comments that substantiated the victim's claims of racial slurs. She would not elaborate on what the suspects said.
If convicted, each Martin could face more than seven years in state prison, the District Attorney's office said.
The two also could face federal charges, authorities said. The case is under investigation by the FBI.
http://www0.mercurycenter.com/breaking/docs/075336.htm
Article on hypothesis of who was behind the WTC terror