Judge sends Wisconsin man to institution in hate crime crash

FOND DU LAC, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin judge has committed a man accused of targeting a motorcyclist in a fatal crash because of the victim’s race to life in a mental institution. Daniel Navarro, a 27-year-old Mexican American from Fond du Lac, was convicted Wednesday of first-degree intentional homicide as a hate crime in a July 3, 2020, crash that killed Phillip Thiessen, a retired white law enforcement officer. Authorities said Navarro didn’t know Thiessen. Officials say Navarro told investigators he had been verbally attacked by white people because of his race. Navarro pleaded not guilty due to mental disease. The jury on Thursday heard testimony from two doctors saying Navarro suffered from schizophrenia.  Judge Andrew Christenson committed him to a mental institution for life.