Timothy Trybus Convicted Of Hate Crime For Berating Woman In Puerto Rico T-Shirt
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A man was convicted of a hate crime Wednesday, after being caught on video berating a woman for wearing a shirt celebrating Puerto Rico in a Cook County forest preserve last year.
The Cook County State's Attorney's office confirmed that Timothy Trybus was found guilty on two felony hate crime counts. The charges were an enhancement of the misdemeanor assault and misdemeanor disorderly conduct he was originally charged with after the June 2018 incident.
The woman, Mia Irizarry, recorded incident on her cell phone at Caldwell Woods.
In the video, Trybus can be heard saying, "You should not be wearing that in the United States of America," and, "Are you a citizen? Are you a United States citizen?"
"Yes, I am a citizen. Can you please get away from me?" Irizarry responded.
Irizarry said, "The man was so persistent in coming to me and being aggressive. I pleaded multiple times, as the video showed. There was no reaction, no response from him."
She said she was wearing the shirt because it was Puerto Rican pride weekend. She had rented the space to celebrate her 24th birthday.
Irizarry also complained that a Cook County Forest Preserve police officer standing by did not react.
She said that is why she videotaped the incident for 39 minutes, but says it was two hours before Trybus was arrested.
The officer was already on the scene for a separate call, Irizarry said. She never called police herself. She said it took two hours before officers arrested Trybus for disorderly conduct.
The officer involved in the incident resigned from his position.
As for Trybus, he is due back in court on Oct. 21 for post-trial motions and sentencing, according to the State's Attorney's office.