WATERVLIET, N.Y. (WRGB) — An investigation into a hate crime turned into a case of fraudulent documents.
On Tuesday, we reported about an 18-year-old Afghan national who was arrested by the Watervliet police department after he forced his way into a neighbor’s home after an argument over the conflict in the Middle East.
18-year-old Hossein Haider is accused of assaulting his Pakistani neighbor on March 1st.
During the assault, police said Haidar made explicit derogatory statements about the victim’s Pakistani nationality and ethnic background.
Haider was arrested in Watervliet and charged with a hate crime.
On Tuesday, he was arraigned in Watervliet City Court.
Police say at that hearing, a passport was presented suggesting he was under the age of 18.
This was in direct conflict with the driver’s license he had on him when he was arrested, saying he was 18.
Watervliet police and the Department of Homeland Security had concerns that the passport was fake.
“So we’re seeing more and more of forgeries, especially of official documents, whether it be driver’s licenses or passports,” said Greg Rinckey, Founding Partner at Tully Rinckey PLLC.
Investigators asked the DMV for information, but say they were denied due to the Green Light Law.
The law allows people 16 and older to apply for a standard license regardless of citizenship status and doesn’t share the information.
Rinckey says it can hinder investigations.
“It makes it harder when New York State won’t share the information that they have because often what happens is someone will produce certain documents to get a driver’s license, and then New York State won’t share that information with either immigration or sometimes even law enforcement agencies without a federal subpoena or state subpoena,” he said.
Investigators spent hours trying to determine which court Haider’s case needed to be in and eventually decided he was 18 and would be tried as an adult.
Rinckey added, “In this instance, it appears he was not a minor, and he was actually an adult, so he should be prosecuted as an adult in the New York criminal courts.”
But this story may just be getting started, as it has uncovered a potentially bigger problem.
