Three Rockland County men face charges including 2nd Degree Assault as a hate crime after an incident in Ramapo late Wednesday night.
Shashi A. Ramsaroop, 23, of Clarkstown; Lindsey C. Peaks, 20, of Spring Valley and Demetrius Latrell Torain, 19, of Spring Valley were all arrested by Ramapo Police after one man was shot with a paint ball gun.
According to Ramapo Police, the victim and a witness say they were leaning against the witness's car when they saw a male fire a black rifle five or six times from the passenger side window of a car going south on Rita Ave, with two paint balls hitting the victim in the abdomen and three or four more hitting his friend's vehicle. They reported someone yelling "(expletive) Jews" as the car drove past. The victim suffered minor injuries and was taken to Nyack Hospital for treatment.
The victim and the witness, both members of the Haverim community patrol, used a potable radio to call in the incident. Members of the Haverim patrol were able to corner the suspect's vehicle on Frances Place in Monsey. Ramapo Police then arrived and arrested Ramsaroop, Peaks and Torain. They found a CO2-powered paint ball weapon in the suspects' vehicle.
Ramsaroop, Peaks and Torain were charged with the following:
- Assault 2nd Degree as a hate crime, a Class D felony for causing an injury with a dangerous instrument
- Aggravated harassment, 2nd degree, a Class A misdemeanor, which applies to harassing, annoying or alarming another person due to race, religion, etc.
- Criminal possession of a weapon, 4th degree, a Class A misdemeanor
- Criminal tampering, 3rd degree, a Class B misdemeanor, for the paint on the vehicle.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
