Maryland man acquitted of ethnic intimidation but found guilty of four other charges

Jack Panyard, York Daily Record
·2 min read

A Maryland man was found not guilty of ethnic intimidation but guilty on charges of stalking, criminal trespassing and two counts of harassment from a 2021 series of incidents in Manheim Township.

Dillon Crabill, 23, of Manchester, Maryland, was accused of repeatedly visiting the home of Juan and Rafael Diaz, members of a Hispanic family, yelling racial slurs and harassing them.

The impact on the Diaz family:One year later, York County family still lives in fear after alleged racial harassment

Common Pleas Judge Harry M. Ness presided over the trial with Chief Deputy Public Defender Matthew Sembach representing Crabill and Assistant District Attorney Larissa Wright prosecuting.

Rafael Diaz testified a motorcyclist approached him while he was mowing the lawn and began yelling about teaching him a lesson, giving him the middle finger and yelling a series of racial slurs. Rafael said later a cyclist came back around with Crabill in a car behind him,

According to Juan Diaz, Rafael's son, Crabill came back that evening in a car with a cyclist who both harassed him at his property.

Juan Diaz testified that two days later Crabill and another individual came back to their property at night and started harassing them. Juan Diaz followed the two off the property until they turned off on a road towards Crabill's property, where he said they made death treats to him.

"I live in a very secluded area and watching these guys sneak into my driveway and the ... racial threats that they said were pretty unsettling," Juan Diaz said during his testimony. "We live with constant trauma worrying what could happen the next day."

Ethnic intimidation, graded a third degree felony in this case, is any offense of arson, criminal mischief or other property destruction that is clearly motivated by the race, color, religion or national origin of the victim.

Crabill is scheduled for sentencing on November 29.

Jack Panyard is a reporter at the York Daily Record, part of the USA TODAY Network. Contact him at jpanyard@ydr.com, 717-850-5935 or on Twitter @JackPanyard.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Md. man acquitted of ethnic intimidation, guilty on 4 other charges