South Florida Man Facing Hate Crime Charges After "Pattern Of Prejudice" Against Jewish People
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AVENTURA (CBSMiami) – It may not seem like a serious crime, watching a man smash a bottle of wine in a grocery store aisle, but the person accused of doing it, Nadim Saddiqui is now charged with a hate crime.
"Because of the pattern of prejudice they were able to have enough to enhance this crime," said Miami-Dade Police Detective Alvaro Zabaleta. "By enhancing it, it's bringing it to the level of a hate crime."
That "pattern of prejudice" police are talking about stems from several incidents.
The bottle of wine that was broken took place at Kosher Kingdom in Aventura.
The store owner said Saddiqui, 35, also threw eggs inside and recalls other instances.
"He just caused a lot of problems and people get scared, so we're just happy they got him," said Kosher Kingdom owner Laurence Einhorn. "It's unbelievable. So that's good."
The latest case of criminal mischief came December 4th.
That's when police say Saddiqui knocked down a menorah in an Aventura building, an incident that was also captured on surveillance video.
"He was sitting in the lobby, he was waiting, he waited for everyone to empty out the lobby, he got up, proceeded to walk toward the counter where there was a menorah and he purposely, deliberately pushed it to knock it down and cause all the bulbs to break," said Zabaleta.
Investigators say moments after that, Saddiqui went to the Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center and became angry when guards would not let him in; he's accused of spewing hate.
"He made comments [like] '6 million dead wasn't enough,'" Zabaleta said. "It just goes to show this individual has a lot of prejudice to an individual community, the Jewish community. That's what enhances this to become a hate crime."
Saddiqui appeared in bond court briefly to face the charges on Monday.
The judge, however, told him his has to come back later because of missing paperwork.
