HOLBROOK, MASS. (WHDH) - A Holbrook facing numerous hate crime and assault charges after he allegedly got involved in a confrontation among children over the weekend has been released on bail.
Shane Belleville, 36, was arraigned Thursday in Quincy District Court on four counts of committing civil rights violations, assault with intent to intimidate based on race, assault with a dangerous weapon, and one count of assault and battery, according to a release issued by Police Chief William Smith.
Officers were called to the playground at Holbrook Middle-Senior High School around 1:15 p.m. Saturday after a child called and said that a man in a red pickup truck tried to run the caller and a group of friends over.
An investigation revealed that the alleged confrontation between Belleville and the children began when one child asked him to intervene in an escalating, racially charged fight that started between a 7-year-old child and an 8-year-old child.
Other children in the area ranging in age from 9 to 15 joined the fight and police said things got physical when racial epithets were used. No serious injuries were reported.
By the time Belleville made it to the scene, officers say the fight was over and the groups had separated.
Belleville allegedly approached a group of all Black children in his Ford F-350 pickup truck while they were walking away down a paved path and then began yelling at them.
During this argument, police say a teenage girl allegedly spat on Belleville and he slapped her in the face.
That is when he got into his truck and reversed toward the group while “allegedly yelling a racial epithet multiple times,” according to the investigation. The children were forced to move quickly to get out of his way and avoid being struck as he left the scene.
In an interview with 7NEWS, Belleville said he wanted to address the allegations.
“I just wanna put it out there they’re portraying me as something I’m not,” he said.
But, when given the chance to tell his side of the story, he stopped short saying he needed to consult his lawyer first.
‘I was extremely dismayed to learn the details of this incident, from the children being racially divisive toward each other to the abhorrent behavior and alleged hate crimes committed by the suspect in this case,” Chief Smith wrote in a statement. “This type of behavior has no place in our community and I am calling for our community members in Holbrook to come together to recognize the gravity of what took place in our town. We need to have real conversations with our children and with each other to avoid this type of situation from ever happening here again. I am committed to being part of the dialog.”
A warrant was issued for his arrest out of the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office and he was taken into custody at his home Thursday morning without incident.
Belleville is known to police, he has been arraigned 69 times and has spent time in jail.
An investigation remains ongoing.
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