Jason Cuellar , 44 , is accused of hitting a man over the head with a bottle 'because he was black ' A central Florida man faces hate crime charges after authorities say he told a man the bar they were in was n't for blacks and hit him with a bottle . Forty-four-year-old Jason Cuellar was brought to the Volusia County Jail following the Friday night incident . Deputies say 24-year-old Kenneth Hodge was at the Hideout Lounge when Cuellar , who is white , told him 'this bar is not for blacks . ' The Daytona Beach News-Journal reports Hodge ignored the comment . A Volusia County sheriff 's report says Cuellar then grabbed a beer bottle and hit Hodge on the head , cutting him . The report says Hodge wrestled Cuellar to the ground but he got away . Several bar patrons tried to stop him but Cuellar allegedly used pepper spray in their eyes . Cueller managed to escape the bar at first but police caught up with him as he was riding as a passenger in a friend 's car . Friend Ellis Lloyd told police he was driving Cueller home because he called him to say he had pepper sprayed multiple people at the bar . 'The aggravated battery charge was reclassified to one degree higher due to the hate crime allegation , ' investigating deputies wrote in the police report . Jail records do n't indicate whether he has a lawyer . Alleged hate crime : Deputies say 24-year-old Kenneth Hodge was at the Hideout Lounge when Cuellar , who is white , told him 'this bar is not for blacks '
Forty-four-year-old Jason Cuellar allegedly told Kenneth Hodge , 24 , he was not allowed at Hideout Lounge because 'he is black ' Cuellar supposedly then grabbed a beer bottle and hit Hodge on the head , cutting him . Cops say Hodge wrestled Cuellar to the ground but he got away .