Man Arrested For Spitting On Teen Boy In Brooklyn Hate Crime, Police Say

BROOKLYN, NY — A Brooklyn man who spit on a teenage boy while riding his bike through Crown Heights has been identified and arrested, police said.

Police said the 14-year-old boy went home and told his mother after being spat on while walking near Eastern Parkway and Albany Avenue around 5:50 p.m. Wednesday. The NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force quickly opened an investigation and released a description of the suspect, who was later identified as Nicholas Jones.

Investigators say Jones, 40, spit on the boy, who was dressed in traditional Hasidic clothing, before riding away.

Jones, who lives in East New York, now faces aggravated harassment charges as a hate crime, officials said. He was arrested and charged on Monday afternoon, police added.

According to reports, the victim is the grandson of Devorah Halberstam, who became a prominent anti-hate advocate after her son was killed in a shooting targeting yeshiva students three decades ago.