Woman Charged With Hate Crime After Homer Glen Banquet Hall Fight

HOMER GLEN, Ill. (CBS) -- A Homer Glen woman has been charged with a hate crime after a fight outside a banquet hall.

Sarah Benain was charged following a fight at DiNolfo's Banquet in Homer Glen this past Saturday. She stands charged with a hate crime, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, battery and three counts of aggravated battery to a police officer, according to the Will County Sheriff's office.

Benain's boyfriend, Lukasz Harnik, 25, was also charged with resisting arrest.

An off-duty deputy was at the banquet hall when someone told him about a fight there, police said. Benain and Harnik were outside with a man and woman who happened to be African-American, police said.

Benain screamed racial slurs at the black woman, whom she also had her legs wrapped around and was punching, police said.

The woman told police she did not know why Benain attacked her. The woman was taken to Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox with minor injuries, police said.

Meanwhile, the owner of the banquet hall asked Benain to leave the premises, and Benain tried to hit the owner, police said.

Benain then tried to run out into the parking lot, but was held back, police said. She punched one sheriff's police deputy in the chin and kicked another in the sky, while continuously yelling racial slurs as the deputies tried to restrain her, police said.

Deputies used a Taser on Benain outside a squad car, police said. Both she and Harnik were taken to jail.

Benain's bond was set at $15,000, and she posted the necessary 10 percent and was released Monday night, police said. Harnik posted an I-bond and was also released Monday, police said.