Patchogue man insults immigrants in attacking man, Suffolk police say
A Patchogue man faces a hate crime charge for assaulting a man while making derogatory comments about undocumented immigrants earlier this week in the village, Suffolk County police said.
Detectives with the department’s Hate Crime Unit arrested Victor Scala, 58, at his home Wednesday and charged him with third-degree assault as a hate crime, police said.
Scala beat up a 35-year-old Hispanic man, police said, “leaving multiple contusions” to the victim’s face and chest during an attack Sunday afternoon in front of a Patchogue business on Carman Street.
“During the assault, the suspect made derogatory comments regarding undocumented immigrants. The suspect fled the scene before police arrived,” police said in a statement.
The unnamed victim declined to be treated at a hospital over fears of the coronavirus, police said. His injuries were not considered life threatening.
Scala will be held overnight at the Fifth Precinct, police said. He is expected to be arraigned Thursday in First District Court in Central Islip. It was not immediately clear if Scala had retained an attorney.
More than a decade ago, Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero was attacked and fatally stabbed by as many as seven teenagers in Patchogue. The group was looking to assault Hispanics when they came upon Lucero near the Long Island Rail Road station.
Police urge anyone with information on this week's incident to call the department’s Hate Crime Unit at 631-852-6323 or Crime Stoppers at 800-220-TIPS. All calls will remain confidential.
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