Lombard 7-Eleven Clerk Who Yelled Racial Slurs Sentenced

LOMBARD, IL — A Chicago man has been sentenced to two years in prison for yelling racial slurs at African-American and Hispanic customers and slashing their tires while he worked at 7-Eleven in Lombard. Ranferi Basilo, 33, pleaded guilty on June 4 to one felony count of hate crime in connection with the Nov. 2018 incident.

On Nov. 8, 2018, Basilo was working at the 7-Eleven store on Westmore when three African-American men and one Hispanic man entered the store just before 10:30. Police say Basilo yelled racial slurs at the group of men and followed them out of the store when ran out, leaving their vehicle in the store parking lot.

Basilo then yelled, "I am going to slash all four tires" and then punctured all of the tires on their car. After a short investigation, Basilo was taken into custody.

At Tuesday's sentencing, DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said, "Hate crimes have no place in civilized society. Simply put, any action undertaken with hate as a driving force that is intended to harm, intimidate or instill fear in another will not be tolerated in DuPage County, as Mr. Basilo learned today."

He added, "These types of crimes not only victimize the intended target, but also entire communities."

Basilo must serve 50 percent of his sentence before he becomes eligible for parole.

Read more: 7-Eleven Worker Shouts Slurs, Pulls Knife On Men In Lombard: Cops