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Prank Caller No Longer Charged with a Hate Crime
By
Billy Parker
Published Mar 23, 2009
Modified Mar 23, 2009
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By
Billy Parker
Published Mar 23, 2009
Modified Mar 23, 2009
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After initially being charged with reckless endangerment as a hate crime, a Staten Island man will only face misdemeanor charges for calling 911 last week with multiple false claims of attacking Mexicans. 44-year-old Michael Franklin was arrested after calling 911 on 5 separate occasions and saying things such as that he "killed two Mexicans and will kill more," that he "is riding around all day looking for more Mexicans" and that he "just hit a Mexican in the head with a baseball bat and threw him in the weeds." A spokesman for the DA's office says that the original hate crime charges were downgraded because the calls don't fall under the state's list of specified offenses for a hate crime. Franklin's only charges now will be for third-degree falsely reporting an incident and second-degree obstruction of governmental administration. After being arrested, he allegedly told police, "I'm an American citizen. The Mexicans are here illegally. They get work. I don't get work."
Tagged
hate crime
prank calls
staten island
Billy Parker
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