KINGSTON – An Ulster County Grand Jury indicted Shayne Wilber, 31, of Woodstock on July 11, 2023, on felony hate crimes against a gay man said to have occurred at a bar in Ulster County. The Ulster County District Attorney did not provide the date of the attack or the date that Wilber was arrested.
Wilber has been indicted on the felony charges of criminal possession of a weapon, menacing, assault, and criminal mischief for the attack on the gay man. The indictment says that Wilber and the victim were both in an Ulster County bar. Wilber is said to have begun hurling homophobic slurs at the victim after learning of his sexual orientation. He is also accused of throwing an object at the victim, causing a lip injury. The indictment says that Wilber’s dangerous behavior continued when he jumped over the bar and attacked the victim, brandishing a box cutter during the assault. After leaving the establishment, Wilber allegedly punched the door, breaking the glass inserts, causing $500 worth of damage.
All of Wilber’s charges would have been misdemeanors prior to the enactment of a 2019 Hate Crime law that allows for the charges to be elevated to felonies.
Defendant is currently in the Ulster County Jail serving a sentence for violating the terms of his probation, as he was on probation at the time of the offense. Bureau Chief of the General Felonies and DWI Unit Paul Derohannesian, who is prosecuting Wilber said “Hate has no place in Ulster County. The Ulster County DA’s office will fight for victims who are targeted because of their sexual orientation, or any of the other categories protected by New York’s hate crime statute, which include race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation.”
