“The defendant broke into two buildings in a short period of time, one of which was a residence. In the first he started a fire that caused significant
damage to that building. Fortunately, the fire was put out before more damage was done or additional structures were damaged. The defendant also damaged property inside the residence he burglarized.”
Police did not refer this to prosecutors as a hate crime investigation. If police find and refer information that could be reviewed as a hate crime, it will be reviewed with the same urgency as the case filed today.