ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — A 29-year-old man was arrested Thursday and accused of beating one man and hitting another with his car in what police called a hate crime.
According to investigators, Alexander Ortiz drove his car at a man walking along Monroe Avenue Tuesday evening. When the man ran into his workplace nearby, Ortiz allegedly got out of his car, followed him inside, and beat him while yelling homophobic slurs. Ortiz then got back into his car, hit a pedestrian in the parking lot, and fled.
Both victims were hospitalized for what police said were not life-threatening injuries.
Ortiz was arrested Thursday and taken to the Monroe County Jail. He was charged with assault, two counts of reckless endangerment, and failing to report a collision involving physical injury. The assault charge, as a hate crime offense, was raised from a misdemeanor to a felony.
Police said Ortiz was also served with a warrant on a harassment charge from a previous incident.
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