GREEN ISLAND, N.Y. (NEWS10) — A Green Island man is in jail without bail, accused of slashing an African American man’s tire after making racist comments to the victim and his family. On Saturday, November 5, the Green Island Police received a complaint for criminal mischief to the victim’s vehicle.

The victim reported that his rear passenger-side tire was punctured with an unknown object, causing the tire to become flat. The victim, who is African American, reported that before his tire was slashed, the downstairs tenant, Matthew Novak, 36, was directing racial slurs toward the victim and his family.

According to police, Novak then walked over to the victim’s car and punctured the tire, deflating it. Novak was arrested without incident and processed at the Green Island Police Station.

Novak was charged with one count of third-degree criminal mischief as a hate crime, a felony. He was arraigned in the Town of Green Island Court and remanded to the Albany County Correctional Facility with no bail. An order of protection was issued for the victim, according to police.