West Chicago man charged with hate crimes

A West Chicago man was charged Monday with hate crimes for assaulting two Hispanic men.

Robert Hindle, 44, of 210 ˆ¨ Geneva Road, is accused of attacking the men last week at a gas station, according to DuPage County State's Attorney Joseph E. Birkett.

At about 6:45 a.m. Thursday, Hindle got out of his car and approached the pair, who were fueling their landscaping equipment at a gas station at North Avenue and County Farm Road, near West Chicago.

Hindle began yelling racial slurs at the men, according to Birkett's office. Hindle went into the gas station for a few minutes, then returned and resumed his verbal attack.

The words soon led to a physical assault that sent one of the Latino men to the hospital, the state's attorney's office said.

"To harass or assault someone, simply because they are different from you, cannot and will not go unpunished," Birkett said in a statement.

Hindle has been charged with two counts of aggravated battery, which carries a sentence of between two to five years.

The state attorney's office additionally has charged Hindle with two counts of a hate crime, which could bring him a three-year sentence.

Hindle was being held at DuPage County jail on $50,000 bond. He is due in court on Aug 20.