‘Evil person’: Victims describe Tower District hate crime suspect
FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – While momentarily separated from her friends and manning a booth for an activist group called Fresno Palestine Unity at PorchFest in the Tower District, Zahra Al was approached by a man who would later be arrested on hate crime, robbery, vandalism and battery charges.
“Just the most vile, hateful, evil thing, evil person I’ve ever dealt with in my entire life,” Zahra Al said.
She said the man, now identified by police as 49-year-old Francisco Samaniego, approached her at the booth and began to speak with her aggressively. She said he insulted her based on her race, religious beliefs, and support for Palestine.
She said as someone who is of mixed race, she was offended as he insulted many different minority groups. She added she also felt threatened as she was with her two young children.
Hate crime suspect arrested after incident at ‘Porchfest’ in Fresno’s Tower District, police say
Eventually, her friends Lana and Mel rejoined her, and they asked him to leave and threatened to call the police. However, that’s when he began the alleged attack.
“He throws his cup of water at me, it’s a plastic cup full of water, the cup and the water at me and then grabs me by the hair and drags me from that side of the table to the lawn and at some point, I was in a choke hold,” her friend Mel said.
They said he even broke some of their phones, making it hard to call out for help. They said it was frustrating as many bystanders did not act on their calls for help immediately.
On Monday, police announced he had been arrested and has been charged with felony robbery, misdemeanor battery, violation of civil rights/hate crime, and vandalism. Fresno County jail records show he has since bonded out and is no longer in custody.
Police Chief Paco Balderama said so far this year the city has seen nine hate crimes and two hate incidents, impacting a total of 17 victims. While still small in comparison to other crimes like larceny, he said it’s still worrying.
“It is a concern to myself and several other chiefs across the country that we are seeing an increase in these,” Balderrama said.
“We live in a free country where you have the right to express your feelings, your thoughts, your philosophies, whatever that may be. But also, when crime is associated with these beliefs and people are being discriminated against, attacked, verbally abused, or threatened because of those ideologies, that’s when it becomes a hate crime,” he added.
Fresno City Council President Annalisa Perea represents the Tower District and hosted a town hall meeting Monday night. She said it’s devastating hearing about a hate crime anywhere, let alone in an area she said is known for being welcoming and accepting of all people.
“We have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to hate crimes. So, whether it’s our Palestinian community, or our Israeli community, or the LGBTQ community, whoever it is if they are being discriminated based on who they are, we are going to take swift action,” she said.
Perea also said she would work with police officials and the Fresno County District Attorney’s office to make sure the suspect is prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
