Prosecutors: Roselle-area woman shouted racial slurs at teens
A Roselle-area woman charged with a hate crime and aggravated assault is being held on $50,000 bail after prosecutors said she shouted racial slurs at three juveniles while she carried a pellet gun.
Karen Komar, 49, of the 25W500 block of Webster Avenue near Roselle, was charged with three felony counts of hate crime and three misdemeanor counts of aggravated assault. She must pay $5,000 to be released from DuPage County jail. Her next court appearance is July 20.
DuPage County Sheriff's deputies said three juveniles were walking down Webster around 8:15 p.m. Monday when they were confronted by a man who photographed them and accused them of criminal activity.
During the confrontation, they said, Komar came out of her house carrying what looked like a rifle but turned out to be a pellet gun and screamed racial slurs.
The youths ran home where one of their mothers called authorities.
DuPage State's Attorney Robert Berlin called the charges "extremely serious."
"Hate crimes and the accompanying prejudice have no place in our society and will be met with the full force of the law," he said.
"We will not tolerate this type of criminal activity, it is unacceptable," DuPage Sheriff John Zaruba said in a news release. "We would like to thank the juveniles for coming forward and reporting this incident."