Friday, April 21, 2023
Florida man charged with hate crime for attacking Jewish center during services
A Cape Coral man was arrested in connection to what police called a "malicious and targeted" attack on a Jewish center on March 11.
In a news conference on Friday, Cape Coral police said Maron Mark Raymon, 52, was charged with trying to break into the Chabad Jewish Center of Cape Coral while worshippers wrapped up Saturday services.
Raymon allegedly hurled bricks at the center's door, which is made of impact-resistant glass, according to a report from NBC affiliate WBBH. He allegedly threw bricks at the Rabbi's car, damaging the windshield and one of the doors.
Raymon also accused of knocking over a large painting of a menorah that was on display in the parking lot.
"This was a very challenging case because, unlike other cases, the video evidence that we have was not supreme and it really required a lot of boots on the ground," Cape Coral Police Chief Anthony Sizemore said during a news conference. "And through that, we developed persons of interest, ran down leads of many many vehicles that might meet the description, and served numerous search warrants."
Police said they've kept quiet on developments in the case in hopes of avoiding information leaking before charges were filed. In a Facebook post on Friday, Cape Coral police called the incident "a malicious and targeted hate crime towards our Jewish community."
Raymon was charged with attempted burglary and criminal mischief to a place of worship. Police said the charges meet the legal requirements for a hate crime enhancement.
"Any type of hate crime in our community will not be tolerated," Cape Coral Mayor John Gunter told WBBH. "They will be investigated vigorously, and we will make sure that if these types of crimes do occur we will find who that individual or individuals are and we will make sure we bring them to justice."
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