A Massachusetts man was arrested at his home Thursday and charged with hate crimes for driving his Ford pickup truck toward a group of Black children.
Shane Belleville, 36, of Hollbrook, is charged with four counts of assault with intent to intimidate based on race, four counts of civil rights violations, assault and battery, and four counts of assault with a dangerous weapon.
The charges stem from an incident that began as an argument between two children on a playground. One of the children was Black and the other white. Older children joined in, and the fight turned into a physical altercation, and racial slurs were used.
One of the children called Bellville, a relative, for help, and he showed up in his Ford F-350. By the time he arrived, the altercation was over. But Belleville and the kids got into a shouting match, and a teenage girl spit on him, so in turn, he slapped her in the face. Belleville then got into his truck and began reversing toward the group of children, yelling racial slurs.
“I was extremely dismayed to learn the details of this incident, from the children being racially divisive toward each other to the abhorrent behavior and alleged hate crimes committed by the suspect in this case,” said Holbrook Police Chief William Smith in a statement. “This type of behavior has no place in our community, and I am calling for our community members in Holbrook to come together to recognize the gravity of what took place in our town.”
According to police, Belleville was arraigned at Quincy District Court and released on $750 bail.
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