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Father, son arrested in alleged racist assault on tree trimmer near Colfax | Update

Both men were arrested Sunday evening, the sheriff's office announced.

Update March 2, 2020:

COLFAX, Calif. — The two men sought in connection with an attack on a tree-trimming worker in Colfax were arrested Sunday, one day after their alleged hate crime, the Placer County Sheriff's Office confirmed.

Father and son Roger A. Lillie, 53, and Roger R. Lillie Jr, 25, have been charged with assault with a deadly weapon, hate crime and conspiracy.

The Placer County Sheriff's Office say the two are out on bail.

In a Facebook post announcing the arrest, the sheriff's office thanked the community for assisting with the investigation of the case. 

"We put it up on social media asking for the public to help us identify the suspects, within less than ten minutes we had them identified and had them in custody that same day," said Lt. Andrew Scott.

According to Scott, the investigation into the alleged attack continues.

"We want to know what happened and why it occurred," Scott said, "So part of our investigation is looking into the allegations of a racially motivated attack and that's what we're focusing on right now."

Original:

Placer County Sheriff's deputies say they are trying to identify two men in what is believed to be a "racially-motivated incident" in Colfax

The incident involved a person being held against a tree-trimming trailer, berated, and hit over the head with a pole saw, the Placer County Sheriff's Office said.

The incident happened on Saturday around 2 p.m. on Canyon Way. Authorities said two white men pulled up in front of a tree-trimming crew before approaching, berating, and insulting the foreman. 

Deputies said one man grabbed the victim and held his face against the tree-trimming trailer while the other hit the victim in the back of the head with a pole saw and injured him. 

Deputies said they drove off in a silver pickup truck on Canyon Way towards Colfax with one of the men trying to hide the license plate as the other drove away.

They were described as white men, one in his mid-40s and the other is his early 20s. 

Anyone with information about the suspects can call the Placer County Sheriff's Office. 

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