Crime

Fla. man arrested after hitting black man with bottle

/ AP

ORMOND BEACH, Fla. - A central Florida man faces hate crime charges after authorities say he told a man the bar they were in wasn't for blacks and hit him with a bottle.

Jason Cuellar, 44, was brought to the Volusia County Jail following the Friday night incident.

Deputies say 24-year-old Kenneth Hodge was at the Hideout Lounge when Jason Cuellar, who is white, told him "this bar is not for blacks."

The Daytona Beach News-Journal reports Hodge ignored the comment. A Volusia County sheriff's report says Cuellar then grabbed a beer bottle and hit Hodge on the head, cutting him.

The report says Hodge wrestled Cuellar to the ground but he got away. Several bar patrons tried to stop him but Cuellar used pepper spray.

He was arrested a short time later.

Jail records don't indicated whether he has a lawyer.

First published on March 3, 2015 / 11:38 AM EST

AP

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