Monterey Police Department announced the investigations of the city’s first two hate crimes of 2024, in a press release last week.
Monterey Police Department officers responded to a report about a road rage incident on Saturday, March 23, at the 2400 block of North Fremont in the Casanova Oak Knoll neighborhood at around 6:00 pm.
The drivers pulled into a parking lot where the suspect, Monterey resident Cody Page, 39, allegedly exited his vehicle while brandishing a knife and began screaming racial epithets at the other driver. Police say the man then returned to his vehicle and drove away.
Page denied screaming racial epithets, but video of the incident showed him displaying what police described as “white power” symbols before leaving in his vehicle. Police forwarded the case to Monterey County District Attorney’s Office for prosecution, according to the press release.
A few days later, on Monday, March 25, Monterey Police officers responded to Fisherman’s Wharf #1 at around 6:15 p.m. after receiving a report about a physical altercation then.
Police allege that one unhoused person confronted another before screaming racial epithets and attempting to kick the other man. Ryan Aberg, a 34-ear-old originally from San Jose, was identified as the suspect.
Aberg admitted to yelling racial epithets at the other man, John Doe, and attempting to kick him over a disagreement, according to the police department. He was treated for related injuries at a local hospital and ordered to appear in court for hate crime and assault, according to the press release.
Both hate crimes were racially based, according to the police department. Of the four hate crimes reported in the city in 2023, half were based on race and half were based on religion.
The Monterey Police Department asks that anyone with information on these cases contact Lieutenant Jake Pinkas at 831-646-3816.