The Los Angeles man accused of attacking an elderly Jewish couple on their way to synagogue was arrested and released on cashless bail just hours before the anti-Semitic hate crime occurred, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.
Beverly Hills police on the morning of Dec. 9 arrested Jarris Jay Silagi after the 44-year-old man allegedly attacked the couple on their way to a Shabbat service, shouting, "Give me your earrings, Jew," while beating the victim with a belt. But Silagi's arrest was not his only encounter with police that day. Silagi was also arrested for petty theft roughly four hours before the attack, both the Beverly Hills Police Department and Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office confirmed. Silagi's arrest record, obtained by the Free Beacon, shows Silagi was released on cashless bail and given a citation.
"On December 9th 2023, at approximately 4:54 am, Mr. Silagi was arrested for petty theft," a Beverly Hills Police Department spokesman told the Free Beacon. "After he was released from BHPD custody, he was arrested approximately 4 hours later for the crime from the December 10th press release."
The revelation comes just two months after a controversial zero-bail policy went into effect in Los Angeles County. Under the policy, those arrested for misdemeanors and many felonies cannot be held on cash bail and are instead quickly released from custody as they await trial.
County prosecutor George Gascón (D.), who has received millions in campaign contributions from liberal billionaire George Soros, campaigned on the policy and announced an end to cash bail on his first day in office in 2020, calling the practice "unjust" and "unsafe." While Gascón last year walked back his cashless bail approach, a Los Angeles judge in May reinstated the policy, ruling that a "wealth-based detention system" is unconstitutional. That decision went into effect in October.
The victim in the attack, a 75-year-old Jewish man named Raphy, "sustained a laceration on his head after being struck with a belt," police said. Raphy and his wife Rebecca were walking to Beverly Hills Synagogue when a man, allegedly Silagi, approached them from behind and screamed, "Give me your earrings, Jew." Raphy wore a yarmulke during the attack, meaning he would have been "clearly recognizable as Jewish," according to the synagogue's rabbi, Pini Dunner.
"At first, it was a shock. There was a huge hard knock on my forehead," Raphy recounted in an interview with NBC News. "I was really enraged, not because of the [injury] but because I was hit as a Jew." Raphy and his wife chased after the attacker, prompting the attention of Beverly Hills police officers, who apprehended Silagi.
Silagi was charged with one count of attempted second-degree robbery, elder abuse, assault with a deadly weapon, and two counts of assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury. Those charges also come with hate crime enhancements, which would lead to a longer sentence if Silagi is convicted. Silagi has a long rap sheet that goes back more than a decade and includes convictions for attempted robbery, battery, and disorderly conduct.
Gascón's office is recommending that Silagi be held on a $1.3 million bail, it announced in a Dec. 12 press release. If Silagi is convicted, he will face a maximum sentence of life in prison.
"This despicable act of hate against a member of our community will not be tolerated," Beverly Hills police chief Mark Stainbrook said after the attack.
The post Los Angeles Hate Crime Suspect Was Arrested and Released on Cashless Bail Hours Before Anti-Semitic Attack appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.
