Arrest in possible hate crime at Fresno bakery. Jewish temple vandalism probed

Fresno police reported Tuesday evening an arrest in a pair of possible hate crime incidents discovered earlier in the day.

The incidents had been reported at Noah’s Ark Restaurant and Bakery, near First Street and Barstow Avenue, and Temple Beth Israel, near Herndon and Maroa avenues, police said.

Police said in an update Wednesday morning they had arrested Orlando Javier Ramirez, 30, in connection to the vandalism at the bakery.

Police accused him of vandalism, hate crimes and threats, all felonies. He was held in lieu of $17,500 bail, according to jail records.

He was considered a person of interest for the damage at the synagogue, police said.

Said Lt. Bill Dooley on Tuesday: “We are confident that this individual was acting alone and there are no additional threats to our community stemming from these incidents. We are also confident he has no ties to any extremist or militant groups tied to the conflict in the Middle East.”

In the incident at Noah’s Ark, an employee discovered two broken windows and a newspaper with a handwritten message threatening Jewish owned businesses about 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, police said. The owners of the bakery are not Jewish.

At Temple Beth Israel, an employee discovered around 6 a.m. a window had been broken by a rock.

The discovery prompted Police Chief Paco Balderrama to issue a statement:

“The Fresno Police Department will not tolerate any acts of violence, threats of violence or efforts of intimidation towards any of our community members.’”

This story was originally published October 10, 2023 at 7:27 PM.