A man was in court Friday to face a hate crime charge after allegedly pistol-whipping a man and yelling racially and sexually oriented slurs at him in Taunton, Massachusetts.
The man who was attacked said it was a scary experience -- he thought he was going to get shot.
“The whole time, when he had the gun pressed to my head ... he had his finger ... wrapped around the trigger, ready to go. You could hear something rattling in the chamber,” said Kadison Ciffolillo, of Raynham.
The incident happened Thursday night and was captured on cellphone video. Joseph Amaral, 59, faces numerous allegations along with the hate crime charge.
According to police, the encounter happened when Amaral returned to his Taunton home and found the Ciffolillo urinating in a yard next door. Ciffolillo had been sitting in a car with friends.
Police said a drunken, derogatory tirade and assault ensued.
"Come on my yard again, I’ll kill you," the attacker says in video of the incident.
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Amaral’s attorney said his client thought someone was trying to break into his house.
Police arrested Amaral and confiscated seven legally registered guns from his property. In court, Amaral’s attorney said he did not understand the hate crime charge.
“The complaining witness is a white male. There’s no indication that my client knew of this gentleman’s sexual orientation or anything of that nature,” defense attorney Mark Gallagher said.
Ciffolillo said he’s just trying to move beyond the experience.
“It was a gun pointed at my face. I saw a little barrel, at that point I just had my hands up. I’m like, 'Hey man, I’m sorry, I don’t know what I did or what to do,'” he said.
Amaral was ordered held without bail and will be back in court Monday for a dangerous hearing.
