A man who allegedly accosted a black bar-goer with a broken beer bottle and told him “this bar is not for blacks” was arrested on suspicion of a hate crime, The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported on Monday.
Jason Cuellar, 44, allegedly confronted 24-year-old Kenneth Hodge on Friday night when the younger man walked into a bar in Daytona Beach, Fla., the News-Journal reported.
According to a Volusia County sheriff’s report obtained by the paper, Cuellar allegedly told Hodge “this bar is not for blacks” before he grabbed a beer bottle and hit Hodge in the head with it.
Hodge reportedly tried to bring Cuellar to the ground but the alleged attacker was able to escape, according to the newspaper. The report also said two other customers at the bar tried to subdue Cuellar so he couldn’t escape but he pepper-sprayed them in the face.
Deputies noted in the report that “the aggravated battery charge was reclassified to one degree higher due to the hate crime allegation,” the News-Journal reported.
Cuellar was reportedly being held in jail on Monday on suspicion of aggravated battery.
Image via Shutterstock / Jinga
