Bechir Lehbeib, of  Queens, indicted on hate crimes charges for February antisemitic attack in Hewlett

Nassau County prosecutors on Wednesday announced the grand jury indictment of a 26-year-old man on multiple hate crimes charges for what they said was an antisemitic attack in Hewlett in February.

Bechir Lehbeib, of Jamaica, Queens, faces charges including robbery, assault, petit larceny and criminal mischief as hate crimes, charges that could bring 25 years in prison. He pleaded not guilty, according to court records. 

Nassau police arrested Lehbeib Feb. 4 after he took banners evincing support for Israel from a Steven Drive home, and later — confronted by the homeowner — punched him in the face, headbutted him and trampled the banners, authorities said.

“Hate crimes have no place in Nassau County,” District Attorney Anne Donnelly said  in a news release from her office. In the release, she described the encounter as an “unprovoked antisemitic attack.”

Taryn Shechter, a Legal Aid lawyer who is representing Lehbeib, according to the release, did not respond to a request for comment.

In a February interview, Donnelly said her office's Hate Crimes Unit opened investigations on nine cases last year, roughly the same number as in previous years. Six cases were resolved with guilty pleas to misdemeanors or violations, Donnelly said.

New York State’s hate crime law upgrades the severity for dozens of specified traditional offenses that can be charged as hate crimes if prosecutors can prove they were motivated “in whole or substantial part” by bias.

In Lehbeib’s case, the charge of second-degree robbery, a C felony punishable by up to 15 years, was upgraded to a B felony, punishable by up to 25 years.

The grand jury also returned charges on the underlying traditional offenses. Those charges can be easier to prove than hate crime charges because they do not require a jury to consider a defendant’s mindset.

Wednesday's arraignment was in Nassau County Court before Judge Colin O’Donnell. Bail was set at $125,000. Lehbeib's next appearance is scheduled for April 1.