Man suspected of hanging noose at Berkeley park is charged with hate crime

The Berkeley Police Department released this photo of a noose a man is suspected of tying in Berkeley on Oct. 9, 2020.

Posted: Oct 10, 2020 / 03:26 PM PDT

Updated: Oct 10, 2020 / 03:27 PM PDT

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

A man suspected of tying a noose to a tree branch in Berkeley’s marina has been arrested and charged with a misdemeanor hate crime.

Police said a person who works at the marina saw the man, later identified as Jaime Robledo-Espino tie a noose with some rope on Thursday.

When confronted about the noose, the employee said Robledo-Espino fastened it to a tree branch and fled the area.

The worker took a picture of the suspect and provided it to officers who later arrested him.

Robledo-Espino, 32, is being held in Alameda County jail on a misdemeanor terrorizing charge, which is considered a hate crime.

“The Berkeley Police Department takes great pride in keeping our community safe,” police said in a statement. “We appreciate the public’s support and are pleased that we were able to bring justice to those who wish to do harm to our community.”