Road Rage Ice Pick Assault Leads To Hate Crime Charge: Cops

LAKE COUNTY, IL — A 67-year-old man has been charged with a felony hate crime after police say he yelled expletives at a motorcyclist he cut off in traffic, told him to go back to his country and chased him with an ice pick. Joseph L. Zens, of the 37100 block of North Shirley Drive in incorporated Gurnee, was arrested Wednesday following the road rage incident and assault near Gurnee, authorities said.

At around 11:35 a.m. Wednesday, the Lake County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call from a man who said he was traveling north on North Delany Road in the area of Sunset Avenue in incorporated Gurnee on his motorcycle when a 2009 Hyundai SUV abruptly changed lanes, cutting him off, according to a news release. The man noted he had a Mexican flag displayed on his motorcycle.

The motorcyclist tried to obtain the license plate and a vehicle description when the SUV pulled onto West Meyer Road. The driver parked and got out of his vehicle, authorities said.

The driver, later identified as Zens, then began yelling racist, anti-Mexican slurs and expletives at the motorcyclist, telling him to go back to his country, police said. He proceeded to retrieve an ice pick from his vehicle and chased the motorcyclist with it, continuing to yell slurs and expletives.

The man was able to get onto his motorcycle and move away before being struck with the ice pick, according to authorities, and then he called 911.

Deputies responded to Zens's home where they found an ice pick in his SUV. He was arrested and charged with one felony count of a hate crime and misdemeanor aggravated assault.

If convicted on both charges, he could face up to four years in prison. Zens is being held on a $15,000 bail.

"Hate has absolutely no place in Lake County. Being victimized because of the color of one's skin, ancestry, religion, sexual orientation, or any other protected classification is completely unacceptable," Lake County Sheriff John Idleburg said. "We will always be there to stand up for the victims of crime."

Zens is next expected in court on Aug. 28.