LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A Las Vegas man accused of attacking an elderly Asian American man will be tried on hate crime-related charges, Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson announced on Friday.
Christian Lentz, 44, was previously arrested for felony residential burglary and released from jail less than week after the May 30 incident.
In an interview with Channel 13, 75-year-old Amadeo Quindara shared that he was sitting in his garage, resting, when his neighbor — identified as Lentz — approached him, threatened him, then left.
Footage from a home security camera captured the moment Lentz appraoched Quindara once again in his garage, this time telling Quindara he would "be on a ventilator" and saying "die" multiple times before walking away. Lentz could also be heard yelling racial slurs.
The attack itself was not captured on camera footage. Quindara was left with deep cuts on his head, a black eye and an emotional suffering that he says cannot be treated.
"Physically, you could recover from that but if you keep thinking about what happened, that is the thing that hurt me most," he told Channel 13.
In the wake of Channel 13's report on the attack, community members questioned why the charges against Lentz were not more severe.
On Monday, Wolfson filed a misdemeanor battery charge against Lentz. And now, he's upgraded the charges with a hate crime enhancement.
"We will not tolerate such horrible acts of hatred and violence in our community," Wolfson stated in a news release. "These actions are unacceptable and will have consequences."
Charges now facing Lentz include residential burglary and elder abuse, perpetrated as hate crimes.
For those charges, Wolfson says Lentz could face the following penalties:
- Residential burglary: minimum sentence of 1 year; maximum of 10 years, plus a consecutive sentence of 1 to 10 years.
- Elder abuse: minimum sentence of 1 year; maximum of 5 years, plus a consecutive sentence of 1 to 5 years. That charge could also result in a maximum fine of $10,000.
However, Wolfson noted that the court can also treat elder abuse with a hate crime enhancement as a gross misdemeanor, which would carry a maximum jail sentence of 364 days and a maximum $2,000 fine.
Channel 13 will follow up with Quindara to learn his reaction to the news. Follow reporter Alyssa Bethencourt for new information.
