TEEN CHARGED IN GARAGE FIRE
Despite racial undertones, police say 15-year-old can’t be charged with hate crime
SCHODACK, N.Y. >> A 15-year-old boy has been charged with setting fire to a garage Sunday night in what authorities are calling a hate crime.
Schodack Police Chief Joseph Belardo said late Tuesday that the boy, whose name is being withheld because of his age, was charged earlier in the day with 10 felony charges, including third- degree arson, second- degree criminal mischief and seven counts of first- degree reckless endangerment. However, despite the fact that the teen painted a swastika and a racial epithet on the garage before he set fire to it, Belardo said the teen is too young to be charged with a hate crime under state law, though, he added in a news release, “we consider this to be a hate crime because of the circumstances.”
Lequan Madison, the homeowner at 29 Cold Spring Ave., woke up in the middle of the night to find his attached garage going up in flames, Belardo said. About a half-dozen fire companies were called in to fight the blaze, which destroyed the garage, though firefighters were able to limit damage to the house.
Belardo said such an incident has very rarely, if ever, occurred in the town and said the community as a whole is upset the fire.
Madison said he is thankful he, his wife and their five children, as well as their animals, are all OK.
“They found the person, we’re still living, so I’m happy about that,” Madison said Wednesday morning outside the home his family has lived in for the past 3 1/2years. “All of our animals are also good, the house is all repairable. You can’t replace your family, but they’re all good, so I am happy about that. The house can be repaired, the garage can be replaced, so it’s all good.”
The family had never experienced any racial problems in their neighborhood, and Madison said this crime won’t keep them from remaining there.
“Everybody is cool around here,” he said. “It’s always been a pleasant place. We’re not going anywhere. We’re comfortable here.”
The crime was also denounced Tuesday by the Albany chapter of the NAACP, with the Rev. David Traynham, president of the local chapter, saying his group wants those responsible to be “prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law” if the fire was indeed a hate crime.
“Although the age keeps this case from being prosecuted as a ‘hate crime,’ it does not mean that consequences for these actions and, hopefully, proper treatment is not warranted,” Traynham said by email Wednesday. “It’s
never our hope to wish for the worst for anyone or their families; however, if proper treatment is not administered, we can have a much bigger problem upon their release.”
Traynham said another organization has reached out to him to offer assistance to the Madison family, but, in the meantime, he vowed to follow the prosecution closely as the case makes its way through the court system.
“I will be following up with the Rensselaer
County [ District Attorney’s] office to determine the procedure and treatment the offender will be receiving. However, I will wait until they have had time to question him and know what his motives were. I commend the Schodack Police Department and New York State Police for the expedient way they pursued this case. I will continue checking in to see what steps are being taken with this “youthful” offender.”
Balardo said federal, state and local investigators are still following up on other leads and again asked anyone with information to call police at 477-8077.