School employee arrested on suspicion of hate crime

Officials say suspect attacked a couple after traffic accident

MOUNTAIN VIEW >> A 37-yearold Mountain View Whisman School District employee was arrested over the weekend on suspicion of a hate crime after he attacked a couple following a traffic collision, authorities said.

Officers were called to the 1600 block of Villa Street at about noon Sunday for a report of a two-vehicle crash, the Mountain View Police Department said in a news release.

The driver of one of the vehicles told police the other driver had assaulted him and his wife following the collision. The suspect also made “racially charged” statements before running into an apartment complex on the 200 block of Chiquita Avenue, police said.

Police described the victims as Latino and the suspect as Black.

Officers found the suspect at his apartment and detained him. Further investigation revealed he was intoxicated, police said.

The suspect was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, hit and run, battery and a hate crime as requested by the victims, police said.

Prior to being booked into Santa Clara County jail, the suspect threatened to kill an officer and his family, police said. As a result, he was also arrested on suspicion of threatening an officer.

Police said the suspect is an employee of the Mountain View Whisman School District. According to his Linked-In profile, the suspect has worked at the district for nearly 12 years, both as an instructional aide and an at-risk intervention specialist.