A woman was arrested on suspicion of a hate crime Wednesday afternoon after allegedly spitting on a Hispanic man and calling him a racial epithet in Target.
The arrest stemmed from a report of an altercation at the Target on Magic Mountain Parkway, according to Sgt. Keith Greene of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station.
“The person that was arrested approached a Hispanic male and spit on him and basically yelled a racial epithet towards this guy and then hit him a couple times,” said Greene.
The suspect, identified as a 35-year-old Black woman from Beasley, Texas, is believed to have not known the victim before the reported altercation.
No injuries requiring a transport to the hospital were reported as a result of the incident, according to Greene.
After deputies arrived at the scene, the woman was arrested and booked at 5:35 p.m. on a misdemeanor charge of “violating civil right by force/threat of force.”
422.6(A)PC of the California penal code reads: “No person, whether or not acting under color of law, shall by force or threat of force, willfully injure, intimidate, interfere with, oppress, or threaten any other person in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him or her by the Constitution or laws of this state or by the Constitution or laws of the United States in whole or in part because of one or more of the actual or perceived characteristics of the victim listed in subdivision (a) of Section 422.55.”
