Police have released a man who violently attacked a 75-year-old Asian man in his garage in southwest Las Vegas.
What happened: Amadeo Quindara was resting in his garage when his 44-year-old neighbor, Christian Lentz, approached and threatened him on May 30, according to police. Although Lentz initially left, he was captured on home security footage returning about a half hour later.
Lentz allegedly punched and slammed Quindara to the ground before leaving the scene. In the video, Lentz can reportedly be heard yelling racial slurs at Quindara, saying that the 75-year-old man would “be on a ventilator” and “die.”
“All the punches he was giving me and he slammed me to the ground causing my head injury. The only thing I could do is shout,” Quindara told KTNV. “He walked away and started talking, ‘You should speak English. You should speak English. You Japanese.’”
Intent to kill: Quindara, who is the son of a U.S. Army veteran, suffered a head injury and bruises to his face and body. He believes that Lentz’s attack was rooted in racism and that he intended to kill him.
“The physical [injuries] you could recover from that, but if you keep thinking about what happened, that is the thing that hurt me most. I cannot change my face to look like an American. I cannot change it,” Quindara said.
Arrest and investigation: Lentz was arrested for residential burglary and has since been released from jail. Quindara, who believes that the charge was too light, is worried that his 44-year-old neighbor will come back to attack him again.
A hate crime investigation is reportedly underway.
