Rammed Other Car with His Vehicle after Yelling Epithets at Them
A Huntington man has been arrested for threatening to kill four Muslim men and then ramming his vehicle into theirs.
On June 17, at approximately 9:00 a.m., four Muslim men dressed in traditional Muslim attire were in a car on their way to a mosque. The men’s vehicle came to a stop at a red light at an intersection in Huntington. Brendan Marchetti was in the drivers seat of a vehicle that was stopped at the same red light. Marchetti allegedly stated to the Muslim men, that he wanted to kill all Muslims, that all Muslims should die, and that he wanted to blow them up.
Marchetti then allegedly drove his vehicle into the side of their car, causing damage exceeding $1,500. As the men began to drive away to flee, Marchetti allegedly attempted to strike their car a second time. In fear for their lives, the men immediately called 911 and reported Marchetti’s license plate to the police.
Law enforcement located Marchetti and his vehicle at an auto body shop a short time later and transported him to a hospital for mental health treatment.
On July 17, Marchetti was arraigned on charges of second-degree criminal mischief, a Class C felony; second-degree reckless endangerment, a Class E felony; and second-degree aggravated harassment, a Class A misdemeanor. All three charges are considered non-bail eligible under current New York State law, meaning that prosecutors could not ask for bail, nor could a judge set bail at the time of the arraignment. Thus, the District Attorney’s Office requested that Marchetti be placed on supervised release, with GPS monitoring and mental health conditions.
“Prosecuting hate crimes is essential to not only protect victims but to also uphold the values of tolerance and respect, especially for other people’s religions,” Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney. “It is unconscionable that my prosecutors cannot ask for bail on cases such as this due to ‘bail reform,’ especially where such violence is alleged. Hate in any form has no place in Suffolk County, and those who perpetrate such acts will face the full force of the law.”