The five teenagers charged with disrupting a religious service after honking their horns, yelling obscenities and firing a shotgun outside the World Sufi Foundation in Carlton, NY were slapped with more misdemeanor charges at their court appearance yesterday. All five were charged with first-degree harassment, and 18-year-old Dylan Phillips was charged with third-degree assault and leaving the scene of a personal injury incident for sideswiping a worshiper as he drove away. However, a prosecutor is holding off classifying their actions as a hate crime.
Mark Vendetti, the 17-year-old who fired the shotgun, claims he fired it because he was afraid mosque members were coming after him. He was charged with felony criminal possession of a weapon, but released on $10,000 bail. Phillips pleaded not guilty to his charges, and the three others had their cases adjourned. Orleans County District Attorney Joseph Cardone said of a hate crime classification, "Until we get a clear understanding of what it is that motivated these young people and have a clear understanding from the members of the mosque how they want us to proceed with this, we're holding off on giving these crimes that designation."
Mosque members agree with the judgment, and though they want the boys to be punished, Imam Bilal Huzair said they want "nothing extreme." He said outside the court, "Upon looking at what had happened and after time has expired, we don't think the boys had any intent of making a hate crime. They were shouting anti-Muslim obscenities. However, it was a one-time deal."
