Ramon Castro was sentenced to 8 years in prison Tuesday for assault as a hate crime. The incident took place on the corner of 77th Street and Roosevelt Avenue in July 2021. (Photos: NYPD and GMaps)
Sept. 28, 2022 By Christian Murray
A homeless man was sentenced to eight years in prison on hate crime charges Tuesday for slashing a man’s face during a bias attack in Jackson Heights last year.
Ramon Castro, 56, who pleaded guilty earlier this month to assault as a hate crime, confessed to slashing a 34-year-old man across the face with a sharp object at around 3:10 a.m. on July 8, 2021, near a taco stand at the intersection of Roosevelt Avenue and 77th Street.
Castro, who is from the Bronx, yelled at the victim: “I hate Latinos and f.ggot people,” then cut the 34-year-old across his left cheek and fled the scene on the subway. The victim had just ordered food at the taco stand.
The victim required numerous stitches to treat his facial wound at Elmhurst Hospital.
“Hate-motivated attacks will never be tolerated in Queens County, where we pride ourselves on our rich cultural diversity,” said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz in a statement. “In pleading guilty earlier this month, the defendant accepted responsibility for violently assaulting a man based on his appearance and he has now been sentenced to prison as punishment for his criminal actions.”
Castro’s prison sentence is to be followed by 5 years of post-release supervision.
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