Three people have been arrested on suspicion of tying up, assaulting and yelling racial slurs at a black teenager after they found him with a female relative at their San Bruno home, police said.
The 17-year-old victim arrived at the San Bruno Police Department about 12:40 p.m. Thursday to report the alleged crimes, said Lt. Ryan Johansen in a news release Friday.
Johansen said an investigation revealed that the victim was visiting a teen girl at her home when family members arrived. Three of the family members became angry and allegedly started assaulting the victim.
“These family members ultimately restrained the victim using rope, held him against his will, assaulted him multiple times and threatened to kill him,” Johansen said in the news release.
Video press release re: a kidnapping and violent assault case that we are investigating as a hate crime. Three suspects arrested and booked. Booking photos attached.https://t.co/FaWq0MMQH2 pic.twitter.com/fSueGguEzu
— San Bruno Police (@SanBrunoPolice) August 23, 2019
The suspects allegedly yelled racial slurs during the incident, leading the victim to believe his race was a motivating factor, Johansen said. The suspects are described as Latino.
Johansen said investigators are still working to determine how long the victim was held, but evidence suggests it was not a brief incident. The suspects eventually untied the victim and allowed him to leave. He was later treated at a hospital for unspecified injuries.
Police served a search warrant at the home where the alleged crimes occurred and seized additional evidence, Johansen said.
The suspects — identified as 46-year-old Wilfredo Amaya of San Bruno, 46-year-old Haydee Arguello of San Bruno and 49-year-old Luisandor Suarez of San Francisco — were arrested without incident and booked into San Mateo County jail on charges related to committing a hate crime, kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon and criminal threats.
All three are being held without bail at the Maguire Correctional Facility in Redwood City.