'I'm going to slash all four tires!': Clerk gets 2 years in prison for Lombard hate crime

A Chicago man who pleaded guilty to hate crime charges last month has been sentenced to prison.

DuPage County Judge George Bakalis sentenced Ranferi Basilo, 32, to two years in prison Tuesday. Basilo faced a maximum of three years behind bars for threatening and damaging the property of three black men and a Hispanic man.

Prosecutors said the four victims entered the 7-Eleven on the 800 block of South Westmore Avenue in Lombard around 10:30 p.m. on Nov. 8 when Basilo, the store clerk, began yelling racial slurs.

As the men attempted to leave, prosecutors say, Basilo pulled out a "long-bladed knife" and followed them, still shouting the slurs.

As the men ran away, Basilo yelled "I'm going to slash all four tires!" and then proceeded to do exactly that to the car the men arrived in, prosecutors said.

None of the men were injured in the attack.

"Hate crimes have no place in civilized society," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a written statement. "Simply put, any action undertaken with hate as a driving force that is intended to harm, intimidate or instill fear in another will not be tolerated in DuPage County, as Mr. Basilo learned today. These types of crimes victimize not only the intended target, but also entire communities"

In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutors dropped additional misdemeanor charges of aggravated assault using a deadly weapon and criminal damage to property.

Basilo also was ordered to pay $1,288.75 in restitution and $739 in court costs and fees.