Photo Courtesy of NYPD
Detectives announced on social media that Douglas had been apprehended.
By Forum Staff
A Brooklyn man has been charged with attacking and robbing three Sikh men in three separate incidents in Richmond Hill earlier this month, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced on Saturday.
Vernon Douglas, 19, was arraigned on Saturday on a 13-count complaint charging him with robbery in the first and second degree as a hate crime, four counts of assault in the second degree as a hate crime, assault in the second degree of an elderly person over 65, three counts of assault in the third degree as a hate crime and three counts of aggravated harassment in the second degree as a hate crime.
A second man, Hezekiah Coleman, 20, is also charged with Douglas in connection with one of the attacks. Coleman, a Richmond Hill resident, was arraigned last Wednesday on a five-count complaint charging him with robbery in the first and second degree and assault in the second degree.
District Attorney Katz said that, according to the criminal charges, at approximately 6:45 a.m. on April
3, Douglas approached a 70-year-old man as he was walking near the intersection of 95th Avenue and
Lefferts Boulevard. The victim was wearing a turban. Douglas allegedly punched the victim several times in the face and head. The victim was treated at a local hospital for bruising to his right eye and bleeding from his nose.
According to the complaint, during a second incident at the same location, on April 12, at approximately
7 a.m., Douglas, shirtless and carrying a stick, approached a 45-year-old man wearing a turban. Douglas allegedly hit the victim several times with the stick, striking him in the head and face and then punched him several times, again aiming for the man’s head and face. During the volley of blows, the victim’s wallet was dislodged from his pocket and fell to the ground. Douglas allegedly picked it up, removed $300 in cash, threw the wallet to the ground and then fled the scene. The victim was taken to a local hospital where he required stitches to his forehead and treatment of his injuries.
Minutes later, at the same location, Douglas, still shirtless, approached a third victim, 58, and allegedly hit him multiple times in the head and face with a stick, causing the man’s turban to fall from his head.
Douglas then picked up the head wrap and allegedly pulled the victim’s beard. At that time, Coleman allegedly approached the victim and punched him multiple times, then threatened to shoot him.
Douglas allegedly took $200 from the victim’s pocket and ran away. The victim was taken to a local hospital where he was treated for the injuries.
“We will not tolerate beatings motivated by hate in the borough of Queens—the most diverse county in the world. Our diversity is our strength and no acts of violence will undermine who we are,” Katz said. “This defendant, along with his co-defendant, will be held to account for the charges of which they are accused.”
If convicted, Douglas faces up to 25 years in prison. If convicted, Coleman faces up to 25 years in prison.
