Modesto man accused of hate crime against same-sex couple in Turlock
Turlock police arrested a Modesto man over the weekend who allegedly yelled homophobic slurs at a same-sex couple and told them to leave a restaurant.
The incident happened at the Denny’s on Lander Avenue around 1:30 a.m. Saturday, said Lt. Neil Cervenka.
The couple were dining at the restaurant and had just kissed when another customer approached them and called them slurs based on their sexual orientation. Cervenka said the suspect proceeded to push one of the victims while using the slur and told him and his partner to leave.
Officers responded to the scene and found the suspect in the parking lot.
Guillermo Lopez, 39, was arrested on suspicion of battery and violating a person’s civil rights by force or threat, also known as a hate crime.
Lopez also was found to be in possession of a controlled substance, suspected methamphetamine, Cervenka said. All the charges are misdemeanors.
Lopez no longer was in custody as of Monday afternoon.
Cervenka said this is the fifth alleged hate crime incident to be reported in Turlock in the past year.
Two other incidents, both in September, were alleged to have been motivated by the victims’ sexual orientation and involved homophobic slurs but no physical contact or threats.
The two others were allegedly racially motivated. The first involved a fight and the second a threat of violence. Cervenka said the first case was forwarded to the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office for review and two people were arrested in the second.
Cervenka said he believes more people are willing to report hate crimes and officers are receiving more training about identifying them.
This story was originally published May 16, 2022 at 3:06 PM.
