Dios mio!
In a strange twist, police busted a Hispanic man for tossing a bottle and a piece of wood at parishioners of a Hispanic church in an area of Long Island long plagued by racial strife — and charged him with a hate crime.
Christhian Munguia Garcia was also charged with breaking into the same church in Patchogue Tuesday and leaving threatening anti-Hispanic notes, according to Suffolk County police.
“Hispanics do not rule. Whites do!” the note declared in Spanish.
Garcia, 25, was busted after wandering up to worshippers leaving the Iglesia Evangelica Refugio de Salvacion late Friday and angrily smashing a bottle on the ground and throwing a log.
No one was hurt, and congregants quickly caught up to Garcia and held him for police. Several witnesses said Garcia appeared stinking drunk.
Patchogue Mayor Paul Pontieri said the incident stemmed from a religious dispute between Garcia and the church pastor.
Pastor Roberto Sanchez said Garcia was not a member of the church and had appeared only once before, a week earlier, when he walked in drunk and was tossed out for cursing during a sermon.
“I don’t think he is the person who [left the notes],” he said.