Police say a Plattsburgh man has been charged with hate crimes following an assault near City Hall.
Police say a man wielding a knife assaulted two men on City Hall Place in downtown Plattsburgh last Friday. After an investigation, police on Thursday arrested 37-year-old Joseph Barchard of Plattsburgh. He has been charged with three felonies, two of them as a hate crime.
Witnesses said Barchard directed racial slurs towards one of the victims. One of the men suffered minor injuries and has been released from the hospital.