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| CA man arrested for anti-Christian 'disturbance' at mall | ||
| 2009-11-11 | ||
| Police arrested 22-year-old Abdul Walid Hamid of Hayward on the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 4, after he reportedly tore a crucifix from a person's neck and scared others at Stoneridge Shopping Center. Hamid, an employee at a mall kiosk near Starbucks, has been charged with battery, terrorist threats and grand theft. According to reports, Hamid was yelling "Allah is power" and "Islam is great" while holding a pen in a fist over his head. Witnesses said he shouted anti-Christian comments, said police. Lt. Mike Elerick of the Pleasanton Police Department said the man was not provoked and didn't threaten violence, but he committed robbery when he grabbed and broke a crucifix off someone's neck. Coworkers told police that Hamid's actions were out of the ordinary
Elerick said much of the man's speech was similar to the loud scene of the Christian activists who frequent downtown Pleasanton. The big difference, however, was that Hamid was on private property and had physical contact with someone. Hamid was reportedly not cooperating and was arrested by force and taken to John George Psychiatric Pavilion in San Leandro for an evaluation. Police said the case would be forwarded to the District Attorney's Office for review and possible charges. Hamid was arraigned Tuesday morning at Alameda Superior Court in Pleasanton on charges of battery, grand theft, exhibition of a deadly weapon and a possible hate crime.
Through an interpreter, Hamid requested a public defender and was scheduled to appear in court at 9 a.m. Thursday where he is expected to enter a plea. | ||
| Posted by:lotp |
| #12 Maybe he's like a cue ball, swksvolFF, the harder you hit him the more english you can get out of him:) |
| Posted by: whitecollar redneck 2009-11-11 22:15 |
| #11 "near Starbucks" includes most cities of 400 or less and many Starbucks themselves |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-11-11 21:34 |
| #10 Wow, sounds like a real mad-dog scene. Lt. Mike Elerick of the Pleasanton Police Department said the man was not provoked and didn't threaten violence, but he committed robbery when he grabbed and broke a crucifix off someone's neck. This Elerick is eaten up with the PC dumbass. Tearing something off someone's neck is violence, it is assault and battery and, in fact, Hamid was charged with that. Elerick said much of the man's speech was similar to the loud scene of the Christian activists who frequent downtown Pleasanton. The big difference, however, was that Hamid was on private property and had physical contact with someone. Yeah, El-dumbass, a common-law crime, aggravated theft, is substantially different from the exercise of free speech. I will leave it to you to guess which is which. Finally, "near Starbuck's" seems a little redundant when we are talking about a CA mall. |
| Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy 2009-11-11 21:22 |
| #9 Lt. Mike Elerick of the Pleasanton Police Department said the man was not provoked and didn't threaten violence, Because grabbing and breaking a crucifix off someone's neck is such a peaceful act. |
| Posted by: Woozle Uneter9007 2009-11-11 21:09 |
| #8 Thought the same thing there whitecollar redneck. Kinda wonder what the sudden only language known is. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2009-11-11 18:41 |
| #7 Pleasanton is in the Livermore valley and definitely does not have San Francisco demographics. The city has a significant population of corporate executives and professionals ... the mall this happened at is solidly upper middle class, not 'edgy'. Neither the mall management nor the local population will be happy at the negative publicity this incident brings. |
| Posted by: lotp 2009-11-11 16:57 |
| #6 Off-topic: A lot of young Israelis take a Wanderjahr or several working in mall kiosks, where I've heard they are famous for their sales abilities. Oh, yes, they are good. One buttonholed me a few months ago to try and sell me a nail-care kit for my wife. I ended up buying three. My wife has very lovely nails now. On-topic: Considering this was an anti-Christian disturbance in California, I'm surprised that the same-sex marriage contingent didn't pitch in and help him. |
| Posted by: Mike 2009-11-11 16:47 |
| #5 Mr. Hamid had worked at a mall kiosk for years, yet needed an interpreter? BS indeed -- he would have needed fluent English to deal with customers... I wonder if his employers thought he was Israeli? A lot of young Israelis take a Wanderjahr or several working in mall kiosks, where I've heard they are famous for their sales abilities. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2009-11-11 15:39 |
| #4 another goat-buggerer using the US judicial system (a public defender) to its advantage. |
| Posted by: anymouse 2009-11-11 15:09 |
| #3 According to reports, Hamid was yelling "Allah is power" and "Islam is great" while holding a pen in a fist over his head. Witnesses said he shouted anti-Christian comments, said police. ....... Through an interpreter, Hamid requested a public defender and was scheduled to appear in court at 9 a.m. Thursday where he is expected to enter a plea. Through an interpreter? I call BS. |
| Posted by: whitecollar redneck 2009-11-11 15:04 |
| #2 "...Hamid was yelling "Allah is power" and "Islam is great" while holding a pen in a fist over his head..." well at least he believed the pen is mightier than the sword |
| Posted by: lord garth 2009-11-11 14:58 |
| #1 I just can't wait till ther government is hiring these types as doctors and nurses. |
| Posted by: BrerRabbit 2009-11-11 14:35 |