A Michigan man was jailed on felony hate crime charges for a violent assault he’s accused of committing against his Black neighbors in which he shouted racial slurs, then punched and spat on them, according to neighbors who witnessed the outburst.
Martin Sitto, 43, was arrested in Hazel Park, Michigan, a suburban city near Detroit, and charged with hate crime using force (a five-year felony), assaulting/resisting/obstructing a police officer, assault and battery, and trespassing.
Authorities say his charges stem from an incident on June 29 in a residential community where they were called twice because of Sitto’s hostile and chaotic behavior, according to WDIV.
When police first arrived, they saw Sitto yelling and trespassing onto his neighbor’s property. They ordered him to stay away, but officers were called back later that night to find Sitto allegedly screaming profanities, using racial slurs, and behaving aggressively.
Witnesses say that Sitto was throwing tree branches at a Black woman and punching her. The victim managed to counter Sitto’s attacks and punch him back.
When another neighbor tried to intervene and de-escalate the violence, Sitto turned on him and started attacking him and damaging property.
Police say they’ve been called several times in the past over Sitto’s wild and belligerent behavior.
One of Sitto’s neighbors said his conduct is nothing new to residents who know Sitto.
She said Sitto had previously yelled racist and homophobic slurs into the neighborhood, threatened her, her mother, and said that he would “slit people’s throats.”
She also witnessed the June 29 attack and said she saw Sitto punching his Black neighbors, spitting on them, then running around his home yelling that the “white race is ending.”
He also reportedly asked her to cover for him and lie to the police on his behalf.
“He asked me to tell the police that they assaulted him,” she said. “I think he assumed because I’m white, I’d be on his side. But I knew what I saw. I wasn’t going to let him get away with it.”
She said she also tried to intervene and help the victims by wiping spit off their faces and physically trying to hold Sitto back as he continued to launch attacks.
“I felt like he had the potential to cause considerable harm,” the neighbor said. “Even if I were to end up having a black eye, it would be better that I’m hurt and holding him back than having him constantly hurting these people just for existing and because of the color of their skin.”
Even after officers arrived, Sitto didn’t calm down. Neighbors said he resisted arrest, swung at an officer, and threatened residents, police, and government officials in multiple cities. Officers were eventually able to subdue and handcuff him.
“He was completely unhinged,” one neighbor said. “Shouting threats about Hazel Park, Royal Oak, Troy … saying ‘everyone was going to die.’ He didn’t stop, even when he was in handcuffs.”
Another resident called Sitto a “danger to society,” and said he’s been terrorizing the community for some time.
Police say he has a history of substance abuse and mental health issues. His criminal history shows he was previously charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, domestic violence, and felonious assault.
“I’ve been here for about a year, and it was peaceful until he came back,” one neighbor said. “He would shout things like, ‘Go back to Africa,’ and make threats that were violent and disturbing — not just once, but constantly.”
Sitto was jailed on a $25,000 bond and was ordered not to contact the alleged victims.
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