The 7-count indictment from the federal government and the 36-count indictment from the state charge Lengend with hate crimes, grand larceny, criminal possession of a weapon, endangering the welfare of a child, and related charges.
Lengend, 40, an unemployed tow-truck driver, hit his targets with Molotov cocktails. Specifically, he emptied Starbuck’s Frappacino bottles, filled them with gasoline, and lit them before hurling them at his targets.
His attack on the Hindu temple may have been a case of having the wrong address, but his attack on the mosque was deliberate. He told authorities that he hated Muslims, and he aimed to “take out as many Muslims and Arabs as possible.”
“Particularly troubling is the fact that the defendant is alleged to have been motivated by hate in at least two of the instances where he is alleged to have struck at a Muslim house of worship and attempted to strike at a second location which is a Hindu house of worships,” said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown. And U.S. Attorney Loretta E. Lynch held the same sentiment when she said:
“Hate crimes offend the very principle upon which this country was founded, and those who engage in such conduct will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. This defendant allegedly sought to fan the flames of ethnic and religious tension. Those flames will always be extinguished by the rule of law.”
Lengend, who lives in Queens Village, has been admitted to Bellevue Hospital due to signs of mental illness. His explanation for the torching of the Islamic center was that they refused to let him use their bathroom, and he had similar complaints against each building he targeted.
He is to be arraigned on March 26 at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse. The state case could sentence Lengend from 25 years to life in prison, and the federal case would be an additional 20 years to life.