Staten Island teen charged with hate crime after alleged anti-Semitic attack
NEW YORK - An 18-year-old from Staten Island is facing hate crime charges in connection to an alleged attack on a Jewish man in Brooklyn in April.
According to the Brooklyn District Attorney's office, Logan Jones, 18, has been charged with third-degree assault as a hate crime, third-degree assault, third-degree menacing as a hate crime, third-degree-menacing, and third-degree attempted assault as a hate crime, third-degree attempted assault, and second-degree harassment.
Authorities say that on April 1, the 21-year-old victim and his wife were walking on Gerry Street in Williams to a synagogue when they were approached by Jones and five other suspects.
Jones allegedly punched the victim in the face, unprovoked, before e and two other the other suspects allegedly kicked the victim as he fell to the ground and tried to escape by sliding underneath a truck parked nearby.
Authorities say Jones and the other suspects then fled when the victim's wife asked a bystander to call 911.
The victim suffered severe head and body pain, an abrasion to the cheek, as well as bruising to the face and mouth.
"Without warning or provocation, this defendant allegedly assaulted an innocent man simply because of his Jewish faith. Crimes that target individuals because of their religion, race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation are a threat to everything we stand for here in Brooklyn. We will now seek to hold the defendant accountable," Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a statement.