Cape Man Slashes Tires, Yells Racist Remarks At Victims: Police

BARNSTABLE, MA — A vandal slashed car tires outside a house party and yelled racist comments at the Hispanic victims, according to Barnstable police.

Police were called to the house on Whitehall Way around 1 a.m., Sunday, for a report of vandalism. When officers arrived, a large group of Hispanic people were outside the home and told police someone keyed their cars and slashed their tires.

Several people at the party told officers that earlier, a man in a pickup truck drove by and yelled racist comments. Witness told officers the man called them "Brazilians who didn't belong here," and also said something about them "going back to where they came," according to the police report.

Another witness said the same man came up to him on foot and said, "This isn't a jungle, go back to where you came from." Witnesses told police the man drove a black Chevy pickup truck with a U.S. flag on the back of it. A neighbor also said he saw the truck and noticed another car across the street also had its tires slashed. They described the man as white, heavy set, with gray or white hair and wearing a dark-colored t-shirt.

Barnstable police came to the same house earlier in the night, around 11:20 p.m., for a noise complaint. According to the police report, an anonymous caller made the complaint and told officers the people attending the party were Brazilian. The responding officer said all the party attendants were Hispanic, not Brazilian.

While police were investigating the incident, witnesses saw the truck drive past Whitehall Way on Falmouth Road, slowing down to see what was going on, the report read. Police called for an additional officer to check the area and found a 64-year-old man who matched the description witnesses gave. Police did not release the man's identity.

Police asked the man if he had a car, and he told officers he had a black pickup truck, the police report said. According to the police report, his truck was parked on an adjacent street and had a U.S. Flag pinwheel on the back of it.

Police said the man was a suspect in a similar incident where Hispanic neighbors reported they also had their cars vandalized and were subjugated to racist remarks.

One of the witnesses came to the Barnstable police station to identify the suspect, but he wasn't positive it was the same man. Police said the incident remains under investigation.