Man charged with hate crimes and assaulting an officer in Costa Mesa

A man was charged with committing four hate crimes and assaulting a police officer in Costa Mesa over the weekend, according to court documents.

Bryce Cameron Agius, 27, was charged Tuesday with six felonies.

Costa Mesa police officers were dispatched just after 6:30 p.m. Saturday to Newport Boulevard near 18th Street near Lions Park.

A man used racially derogatory terms against a group of four Latinos before pursuing them and brandishing an 8½-inch knife, according to Orange County Senior Deputy District Attorney Paul Chrisopoulos.

Chrisopoulos described the four as male juveniles.

When officers arrived at the scene, the man threw a knife toward an officer, prosecutors said. The weapon missed and landed eight to 10 feet from the police car.

The man “was not cooperative during the arrest process,” and while being taken to jail, he head-butted an officer at the police station, Chrisopoulos said.

In addition to the four hate crimes, Agius was charged with assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest, according to court documents.

He is scheduled back in court Nov. 7.

He could face up to eight years and four months in prison if convicted, prosecutors said.

[email protected]