A Queens grand jury indicted a Fresh Meadows man for a hate crime for destroying property outside a kosher bagel store that displayed Israeli flags in May.

Dawood Faisal allegedly knocked over plant stands outside Bagels & Co. at 188-02 Union Tpke. on two separate occasions and, in one instance, hurled dirt at the Israeli flags in front of the kosher store.

Faisal, 22, of 67th Avenue, was arraigned Monday, Oct. 19, in Queens Supreme Court on an indictment charging him with two counts of criminal mischief in the third degree as a hate crime.

According to the indictment and investigation, on May 15, at approximately 6:18 p.m., Faisal knocked over nine metal plant stands outside Bagels & Co., a kosher shop on Union Turnpike where numerous Israeli flags and banners were on display. Dirt and plants spilled from the toppled containers onto the sidewalk. Faisal then picked up the debris and twice threw it at the shop.

On May 23, at approximately 1 a.m., Faisal returned to the Fresh Meadows shop. He pushed and kicked 11 metal plant stands, causing plants and dirt to spill onto the sidewalk. After emptying each of the metal planters’ contents onto the sidewalk, Faisal attempted to kick over a large clay pot nearby without success, then he manually uprooted the plants inside that vessel.

“As alleged, Dawood Faisal repeatedly targeted a Fresh Meadows business specifically because it is Jewish-owned and featured Israeli flags, and destroyed property as an expression of antisemitism,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “Bias crimes are an affront to our entire community and will not be tolerated.”

The charge is not bail-eligible, and Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Hartofilis ordered Faisal to return to court on Nov. 12. If convicted, he faces up to seven years in prison.

Separately, Faisal was also arraigned on indictment charges in June of manslaughter, assault and other crimes for the death of 71-year-old Cara Trager, a Queens-based journalist and beloved member of the Kew Gardens Jewish community, near Cunningham Park on Memorial Day, May 25. Faisal allegedly sped through two red lights on Francis Lewis Boulevard, then collided with two cars, propelling one into a crosswalk where Trager and her husband were walking.

The defendant had been remanded into custody without bail for the vehicular case.

Senior Reporter. Reach me at bparry@schnepsmedia.com

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