Man Arrested For Alleged Hate Crime Battery In Novato

NOVATO, CA – A man was arrested over the weekend on suspicion of committing a hate crime battery of a Hispanic man in Novato.

According to the Novato Police Department, police responded around 8:15 a.m. Sunday to an argument that escalated to a fight in the area of Sunset Parkway and Leafwood Drive, where officers contacted Griffin Drago, 40, of Novato, and a Hispanic man.

Drago told police he believed the man had stole property from his vehicle parked nearby. The Hispanic man said Drago spit in his face, struck his vehicle with his hands and used racial and derogatory language about his Hispanic ethnicity, according to police.

Drago was booked into Marin County Jail on suspicion of battery and a hate crime, police said.

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