close
close

Ramapo police charge two men with hate crimes in connection with attack on UPS driver

play

MONTEBELLO – Two men accused of attacking a UPS driver and trying to steal his truck face hate crime charges after they were also accused of using racial slurs, Ramapo police said.

The men were arrested Saturday after attacking and attempting to rob the driver at 4:15 p.m. on Spook Rock Road, Police Chief Daniel Hyman said in a news release.

The men threw a water bottle at the vehicle, then attacked the driver and tried to steal the truck's keys, Hyman said. The men are accused of using racial slurs against the driver, which led to an aggravated hate crime charge. Police said the driver is not white but did not provide information about his race.

A police investigation led to the arrest of Yitzchok Zucker, 31, of New City, and Moshe Pepper, 31, of Mad River, California, for attempted second-degree robbery as a hate crime and attempted second-degree assault as a hate crime.

Pepper was also charged with fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon and second-degree harassment.

Hyman said Monday the driver was not injured.

“He's obviously a big guy and was able to fend off the attack,” Hyman said.

Both men were arraigned by Judge Vincent Altieri in Suffern and released without bail pending their scheduled appearance in Montebello court on Sept. 4. The charges could also be brought by prosecutors before a grand jury in Rockland.

In New York, a hate crime can be charged when people are accused of targeting others because of their race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender identity or expression, religion, religious practice, age, disability, or sexual orientation. A hate crime is an aggravated charge.

In recent months, there have been additional arrests in connection with hate crimes in Ramapo.

In May, police charged four teenagers with hate crimes, accusing them of verbally and physically attacking Jews while driving through the city on the Sabbath.

In April, a food delivery driver and a customer got into an argument over a late delivery that led to hate crime charges against the driver, Ramapo police said.

Steve Lieberman covers government, breaking news, courts, police and investigations. You can reach him at [email protected] Twitter: @lohudlegal

Read more Article And biographyOur local reporting is only possible with the support of our readersp.

You may also like...