San Francisco, CA, February 18, 2005 … The Central Pacific Region of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) applauded the City of Ceres, CA, police department for making an arrest in the case of the savage beating of a postal carrier.

According to press reports, Ceres Police arrested 21-year-old Shane Douglas Collins, a Modesto man, for beating Manjit Singh, a postal carrier walking his route.

Police believe that Collins chose to attack Singh because he is of Indian descent. Collins has numerous Nazi symbols tattooed on his body and is affiliated with a white supremacist organization.

Jonathan Bernstein, Director of ADL's Central Pacific Regional Office in San Francisco, issued the following statement:

We applaud the Ceres Police Department for their efforts in apprehending the suspect and the District Attorney's Office for planning to prosecute this heinous act as a hate crime.

The persistence of our local law enforcement agencies in solving this crime sends a message to the community that they take these matters seriously and that those suspected of committing hate crimes will be pursued and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.