Community leaders are organizing a rally in downtown Las Vegas to call for justice for an elderly Filipino American man who fell victim to an anti-Asian attack in his own home in Mountain’s Edge late last month.
What happened in the attack: Amadeo Quindara, 75, was in his garage on May 30 when his neighbor Christian Lentz, 44, allegedly approached and threatened him.
Security footage shows a man, believed to be Lentz, initially leaving the garage before returning in about half an hour to beat up Quindara. In the video, the attacker can be heard yelling racial slurs, as well as telling the senior to “be on a ventilator” and “die.” Quindara suffered a black eye, bruises to his face and deep cuts on his head.
Arrest and charges: Lentz was initially arrested for felony residential burglary but was released from jail in less than a week. On June 16, that charge was upgraded as a hate crime enhancement, and he was also charged with elder abuse as a hate crime.
Possible penalties: If convicted of residential burglary, Lentz could face one to 10 years in jail, plus a consecutive sentence of another one to 10 years.
On the other hand, he could spend one to five years in jail — plus a consecutive sentence of one to five years — and pay up to $10,000 in fines if he is found guilty of elder abuse. However, Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said that the court may also treat elder abuse as a gross misdemeanor. This would reduce Lentz’s possible sentence to a maximum of just 364 days and up to $2,000 in fines.
Lentz is scheduled to return to court on July 3.
About the rally: Filipino American leaders will be holding a “Rally Against Asian Hate” to call for justice for Quindara. The protest will take place in front of the Regional Justice Center at 10 a.m. on June 29.
Jacque de Joya, president of the National Federation of Filipino American Association of Nevada, told KTNV:
When Filipino Americans heard about this brutal attack, we took it very personally, because the first thought we had was ‘That could have been my dad.’ In the Filipino American community, we’re very family-oriented, and we revere our elders. So we felt like our own father had been attacked – it hit us right in our hearts. These kinds of hate crimes, which have been skyrocketing against Asian Americans, are absolutely unacceptable, especially here in our Las Vegas community.
