3 face hate-crime charges after teens pepper-sprayed
PINELLAS PARK (FOX 13) - Three men are facing charges of child abuse that police say are tied to a hate crime.
Pinellas Park detectives say Peter-Austin Afentakis, Corey Knous, and John Schmidt spotted three teen boys -- two black and one white -- riding their bikes to football practice Thursday afternoon along 62nd Street.
According to officers, Schmidt began shouting racial slurs, then got out of the car and pepper-sprayed the teens.
Detectives say the teens didn't know the men.
The case has been sent to the state attorney's office.