CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Clearlake Police have arrested a local man who they say harassed and threatened a neighbor, charging him with a hate crime.
On Sunday, Thomas Gerard Byrne, 34, was arrested on a felony hate crime charge and a misdemeanor charge of brandishing a replica firearm, according to Clearlake Police Sgt. Tim Hobbs.
At 3 p.m. Sunday a 51-year-old Clearlake resident who is of Hispanic descent came to the police department to report harassment from a neighbor, Hobbs said.
During the investigation by Officer Michael Dietrick, police learned that Byrne had been constantly harassing the victim by calling him racist and derogatory names, and telling him to go back to Mexico, according to Hobbs.
At about 2:30 p.m. that day, while the victim and his 10-year-old daughter were in their front yard, Byrne made more racist comments then pointed what the victim thought was a sawed-off, short-barreled shotgun at him and his daughter, Hobbs said.
Hobbs reported that Byrne then cycled the pump action of the shotgun and pretended to fire it at the victims.
Dietrick contacted Byrne at his residence at about 4:40 p.m. Sunday. Hobbs said Dietrick gained consent from Byrne and located a pump action BB gun that looked like a short-barreled shotgun inside his residence.
Byrne subsequently was arrested and transported to the Lake County Jail, Hobbs said.
Byrne was booked on the charges, with bail set at $15,000, according to his booking sheet. Jail records indicated he later posted the required percentage of bail and was released.
Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to contact Officer Michael Dietrick at 707-994-8251, Extension 502.
Clearlake man arrested for hate crime, brandishing firearm replica
- Lake County News reports
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