Beverly Hills Police arrest man for alleged hate crime, assault with a deadly weapon

(LOS ANGELES) — Police in Beverly Hills said they arrested a man who allegedly made antisemitic remarks as he assaulted an older man with a belt on Saturday.

Jarris Jay Silagi, 44, allegedly struck an elderly man on his head with a belt at about 9 a.m. Saturday near North Rexford Drive and North Santa Monica Boulevard, according to the Beverly Hills Police Department.

The suspect allegedly shouted antisemitic statements at the man, who was with his spouse, during the incident, the police said in a news release Sunday night.

The Beverly Hills Fire Department treated the older man at the scene. He did not require additional medical attention at the time, police said.

The suspect left the scene and was later located by a BHPD senior forensic specialist, who spotted a man matching a description that had been circulated, police said.

“Our officers quickly apprehended the suspect and he is in custody,” Police Chief Mark Stainbrook said in a statement. “This despicable act of hate against a member of our community will not be tolerated.”

Silagi has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon, “attempt robbery,” hate crime and elder abuse. He is being held at the Los Angeles County Jail on $100,000 bail. He is expected at the Los Angeles Airport Court on Dec. 12. It wasn’t immediately clear if Silagi had an attorney.

Saturday’s alleged assault is the latest in a string of incidents since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas and the succeeding war.

A 69-year-old Jewish man died last month from blunt-force head trauma following a confrontation with a counterprotester as pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered in Thousand Oaks, California, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office said last month.

An antisemitic message was sprayed on the back of a holocaust survivor’s apartment building in Beverly Hills in late October, police said.

Earlier in October, police began an investigation after antisemitic flyers were distributed in Beverly Hills.

ABC News’ Michelle Mendez contributed to this report.

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