Registered Sex Offender Charged With Hate Crime Targeting SoCo Pride Bowling League

ROHNERT PARK-COTATI, CA — A Cloverdale man accused of shouting homophobic slurs at members of the Sonoma County Pride Bowling League is facing a battery and felony civil rights violation charge, according to the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office.

Vincent Charles Belfiore, 64, faces a felony charge of violation of civic rights by force for the incident, which occurred October on league night in Rohnert Park.

Belfiore remains free after posting bail.

Police said Belfiore confronted league members around 9:30 p.m. Oct. 14 at Double Decker Lanes on Golf Course Drive, according to reports.

Among them, was league president Christopher Mahurin, a Santa Rosa Police Department lieutenant, who said a man entered Double Decker Lanes bowling alley and started shouting homophobic slurs at several of the league's bowlers before physically assaulting a member.

He was quickly removed from the building by the bowlers.

"Let me be clear," Mahurin said, "hate will not silence us. Our LGBTQIA+ community has never been one to shrink in the face of ignorance or intimidation, and we certainly won't start now. What happened only reinforces why spaces like ours matter. The Sonoma County Pride Bowling League stands as a visible, unapologetic reminder that we belong. That love, inclusion, and solidarity are stronger than any act of hate."

Belfiore was convicted of sexual battery in 1983, according to the Megan’s Law database of registered sex offenders. He also has a subsequent felony incarcerations.