5/18/02 asianweek.com: "Last Youth in Chinese Deliveryman Murder Plea 
Bargains for 17 Years,"
    The last of a group of five youths charged with murdering a Chinese food 
deliveryman agreed to a plea deal that will keep her in prison for 17 years.
    Stacy Royster, 19, admitted to luring the deliveryman, Jin-Sheng Liu, 44, to an abandoned house in Queens, New York on Sept. 1, 2000, where he was robbed 
and fatally beaten in a plot to get some free food.
    While Liu lay bleeding and dying in the street, the group fled to the home of 
one of the teens and enjoyed their meal of egg foo young, General Tsos chicken 
and other dishes. More than $200 was left in Lius pockets, police said.
    In Queens Supreme Court, Royster entered her guilty plea and described how 
the murder unfolded. "I agreed to rob Mr. Liu along with my other co-defendants," Royster told Supreme Court Justice Robert Hanophy. Royster said that she 
placed a fake order for $60 worth of food from her cell phone and later greeted 
Liu in front of the house while the rest of her accomplices hid in nearby bushes, 
waiting to attack him. The four boys then threw a bed sheet over Liu, and bashed 
his skull in with a brick. Responding to questions from a prosecutor, Royster 
admitted that she was the one to place the call and wait for Liu so that he would 
feel safe bringing the food to a female. She said that she wasnt aware Liu had 
been hit in the head until after the attack.
    Royster had faced a first-degree murder charge with a possible sentence of 
25 years to life if she had been convicted in a jury trial. Her grandmother, 
Anastacia Brown, said she had hoped for a lesser sentence because the teen 
had a history of mental illness and had made several suicide attempts. She will 
be formally sentenced May 29.
    Prosecutors said that Royster was fully aware of her actions because she 
had the presence of mind to later discard the cell phone she had used to make 
the call and lie to her grandmother, saying it had been lost.
    Roysters plea, which occurred the day before jury selection was to begin in 
her trial, was the last in the brutal murder case. Last June, Jamel Murphy, 18, 
pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery and is awaiting sentencing. In October, 
James Stone, 17, was sentenced to 17 years after also pleading guilty to first-
degree robbery. In November, Darryl Tyson, 18, was sentenced to 16 years on 
the same charge. Robert Savage, the youngest of the group, was only 15 at the 
time of the murder and the only one charged as a minor. He pleaded guilty in 
November to second-degree murder and received a sentence of seven years 
to life after admitting to delivering the fatal blow with a brick.
    The murder shocked the neighborhood of St. Albans, where Liu and his 
wife owned and operated the Golden Wok Restaurant after immigrating from 
China two years earlier with their two children. The family has fallen on hard 
times since the murder. They lost the restaurant and were temporarily homeless 
last year. Lius widow, Bao Zhu Chen Liu, did not attend Roysters hearing but 
has previously said that she wanted to see Royster imprisoned for life.

2/25/02 Associated Press: "Fourth Person Charged In Sikh Temple Arson,"
    Palermo, N.Y. (AP) -- A fourth teen was charged with committing a hate
crime in connection with last November's destruction of a Sikh temple
here.
    Mitchel Trumble, 18, of Mexico, was arrested Tuesday and charged with
criminal mischief as a hate crime, a felony, and fourth-degree criminal
mischief, a misdemeanor.
    Charged in December with deliberately setting the Nov. 18 fire were
William Reeves, 18, of Parish, and Joshua Centrone, 18, of Mexico. Cassie
Hudson, 19, of Parish was charged with conspiracy.
    According to Oswego County Sheriff's deputies, Trumble helped vandalize
the Gobind Sadan USA religious center in this town about 25 miles north of
Syracuse.
    Police accuse the other three of returning later that evening to set the
fire that destroyed the center's main building, a 100-year-old converted
farmhouse.
    The teens told authorities they read the temple's name read Go Bin Laden 
and burned it down because they believed the people who worshipped
there supported the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
    Trumble was released on his own recognizance. He is due back in court
Monday.

2/19/02 Associated Press: "Felons Charged in Deaths of South Asians as `9-11
Retaliation,'"
    DALLAS (AP) -- Police have charged an incarcerated felon with the death of 
Waqar Hasan, a former Milltown, N.J. resident and Pakistani national who was 
killed after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
    Mark Anthony Stroman, 32, was charged after an interview he had requested 
on Dallas television in which he confessed to Hasan's murder.
    Stroman, of Stephenville, TX, said he killed Hasan and another man and shot 
a third out of revenge for the terror attacks.
    The victims of all three crimes, two of which Stroman was already charged with, 
were of South Asian descent.
    According to a transcript of the tape from KDFW-TV in Dallas, Stroman said he wanted to ``retaliate on local Arab Americans or whatever you want to call them.''
    ``I did what every American wanted to do but didn't,'' Stroman said. ``They 
didn't have the nerve.''
    Hasan, 46, had been shopping for a house so his wife and four daughters could 
join him in Dallas, where he owned Mom's Grocery.
    

2/15/02 Associated Press: "Sentences for Wisconsin Anti-Asian Hate Crime Defendants"
    MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Two men were sentenced Tuesday in federal court on 
civil rights charges stemming from an attempted drive-by shooting and an arson.
    Andrew J. Franz, 23, and Augustine LaBarge, 21, admitted in federal court they 
did not know the Asian families they had targeted but picked them out because of 
their race.
    Franz was sentenced to 19 years and nine months in federal prison. His 
sentence will begin after he serves a separate six-year sentence for violating 
probation in another case.  LaBarge was sentenced to 10 years.
    Three more defendants who participated only in the attempted drive-by 
shooting will be sentenced Friday. All five defendants are from the Manitowoc 
area.
    Franz and LaBarge pleaded guilty to setting fire to a Manitowoc home in 1998. 
Ger and Chao Lee and their six children escaped, but the fire destroyed their 
home.
    In the other incident, the five men drove to Two Rivers and placed a bomb under 
a van in front of a house where a Hmong family lived.
    They admitted their plan was to shoot family members who emerged after the explosion. A passing police car frightened them away before the bomb exploded. No one was injured.
    The other defendants have pleaded guilty. They are 25-year-old Miguel J. 
Rodela, 22-year-old Tomas Vanlannen and 21-year-old Casey Lynn Tegelman.

1/10/02 Associated Press: "Utah Man Sentenced for Post Sept. 11 Attack, 
Salt Lake City: A man who tried to set fire to a Pakistani-American family's 
business two days after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks was sentenced to more 
than four years in prison.
    Federal prosecutors said James Herrick, 32, targeted the restaurant Curry in a 
Hurry because of the owners' race.
    ``I got upset over what happened and did something very stupid,'' Herrick told 
U.S. Magistrate Ronald Boyce in October, when he pleaded guilty to a civil rights violation.

Dec. 28, 2001 - Jan. 3, 2002 AsianWeek.com. "Increase in Hate Incidents: Santa 
Clara County Documents 1,650% Rise,"
    A 1,650% rise in hate-crimes over the last year was reported in Santa Clara 
County, CA.  Sgt. Tony Ciaburro, of the San Jose Police Department, says that 
of the 89 hate crimes committed this year, 52 have occurred since Sept. 11.

12/24/01 Associated Press: "Slain Sikh's Family Receives Outpouring of 
Community Support"
    Phoenix (AP).  More than 10,000 people have sent letters, notes and e-mails 
of sympathy to the family of Balbir Singh Sodhi since the Sikh was shot to death 
at his Mesa store in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
    Mesa United Way officials added to those condolences Thursday, presenting Sodhi's son, Sukhwinder, 28, with a check for $48,200 raised in a United Way 
drive.  The group's 56-member board voted unanimously to give the money, 
deeming Balbir, 49, and his family as much victims of the attacks as those killed 
at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
    The public outpouring included notes from U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan 
and an emotional phone call between Indian and American leaders. It also 
included items such as pictures from ``Mrs. Truman's 4th Grade Class'' at Luke Elementary School in Glendale.
    Frank Silva Roque, 42, of Mesa, has been charged with first-degree murder in Sodhi's Sept. 15 shooting, which prosecutors say was racially motivated 
because the Sikh was wearing a turban and beard and may have been mistaken 
for an Arab.  Roque pleaded innocent to the murder charge and nine other 
charges Oct. 5.
    Sodhi was the father of five and grandfather of four. His wife, Joginder, is in 
India caring for his elderly parents. She will return in January and will decide what 
to do with the money.

12/18/01 Associated Press: "Woman Gets 30 Days in Sikh Attack,"
    EUGENE, Ore. (AP) -- A 54-year-old woman was sentenced to 30 days in jail 
for harassing two Sikhs at an Interstate 5 rest area following the Sept. 11 attacks.
    Shari Margaret Mitchell, 54, of Milwaukee had asked for leniency, telling the 
judge that she might become homeless if she's jailed for a month. But Lane 
County Circuit Judge Ted Carp imposed the jail sentence requested by the 
prosecutor.
    Carp also ordered Mitchell to undergo mental health evaluation and treatment, 
to keep away from firearms and not to drive until she proves to state licensing 
officials that she's no threat on public roads.
    The judge said the sentence is intended to discourage Mitchell and others from acting on their bigotry. He promised Mitchell that she'll serve more time if she 
violates probation.
    ``This is a case where it's important for the public to see the defendant serve 
her time,'' Carp said. ``If I see you again, ma'am, you'll be going to jail for a considerable period of time.''
    A jury convicted Mitchell on Dec. 7 of second-degree intimidation and physical harassment. The bullying occurred five days after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, 
a period that saw several acts of violence against Muslims and those mistaken 
for them.
    The victims, Jagit Gill, and his father, Santokh Sing, live in Washington state 
and did not attend Friday's 30-minute hearing.
    The men were drinking tea at the rest area when Mitchell cursed them, 
accused them of being terrorists, knocked over their tea, pushed Gill and tried to 
pull the turban from Sing's head.
    In her trial, Mitchell claimed that she was mentally ill and thought she was 
confronting Osama bin Laden at the rest area. Mitchell has some history of 
mental disorder, but prosecutors described her effort to use it for a legal defense 
as ``a lousy con job.''

12/18/01 Associated Press: "Three Teens Arrested for Setting Fire to Sikh 
Temple,"
    OSWEGO, N.Y. (AP) -- Three teen-agers were arrested Friday and charged 
with setting a fire that destroyed a Sikh temple.
    All three youths, ages 18 and 19, admitted involvement in the blaze Nov. 18 
and said they had been drinking, Sheriff Reuel Todd said.
    The Gobind Sadan House of Worship was housed in a converted farmhouse 
in Palermo, about 25 miles north of Syracuse.
    Investigators said they were considering the fire a possible hate crime, 
which could lead to stiffer penalties under a law enacted last year.
    Since the Sept. 11 attacks, Sikhs have been mistaken for Arabs or Muslims 
because they wear turbans and have beards. Around the country, Sikhs have 
been harassed and attacked, and at least one was killed

Dec. 2001/Jan. 2002 A Magazine, p. 16: On Oct. 2, 2001, James Stone, 17, 
was sentenced to 17 years in prison for the Sept. 1, 2000 murder of Jin-Sheng 
Liu.  Liu, 44, was delivering meals from his Queens, NY Chinese restaurant to 
Stone and his friends, when they wrapped him in a bed sheet and bludgeoned 
him to death.  The other four culprits await sentencing.

12/10/01 Associated Press: "Are You Bin Laden? Hate Crime Victim Recounts Assault," 
    ``Are you (Osama) bin Laden?''
    Two men accused Surinder Singh Sidhu of being the hated al-Qaida leader 
before beating him with metal poles.
    Sidhu, 47, was preparing to close his Northridge liquor store late Monday 
night when they entered. He said he tried to explain that he was a Sikh and had 
no association the accused terrorist. But for six minutes, they continued their 
assault.
    ``All the time, they kept hitting me on my head,'' he said Friday at a news 
conference.
    The Los Angeles Police are calling the assault a hate crime, one of more than 
100 logged since Sept. 11. Hundreds more that have been reported nationwide -- 
most targeting Arab-Americans, Muslims, Afghan-Americans, Sikhs, Asians and 
others mistaken for Arabs or Muslims.
    ``It was obvious that they were attacking him not because they wanted anything 
from him but because of what he looked like,'' Devonshire Division Capt. Joe 
Curreri said.
    ``They obviously had hate in their minds when they walked into the store. They obviously had hate in their minds before they walked into the store because they 
had metal pipes with them.''
    Sidhu, who wears a turban and has a long peppered beard -- customary of 
Sikh dress -- managed to get away after pushing a shelf over on top of his 
attackers, causing them to fall on the floor, drop their weapons and run. No 
arrests have been made.
    He was hospitalized for several hours with head injuries.
    Kirtan-Singh Khalsa, spokesman for the Khalsa Council, an international 
council for Sikh affairs, said the crime was regrettable but not surprising, noting 
attacks had increased since Sept. 11. More than 200 have been reported 
nationwide, he said.
    On Friday, Sidhu was wearing a turban made with American flag fabric which 
he says he has been wearing since Sept. 11 as a symbol of his love for the 
country. Although he is hurt by the incident, he said he is not bitter.
    ``I feel bad but not angry,'' he said. ``Most of the people are nice. It's never 
happened before. We just have to educate the people on who we are.''
    According to Khalsa, there are approximately 23 million Sikhs worldwide, 
500,000 in the United States and 125,000 in California. They have been farming 
in the state for more than 100 years.

11/27/01 Associated Press: "Hate Crimes Reported to FBI Rise 2% in 2000,"
    Hate crimes, triggered by prejudice against the victim's color, religion, 
disability, national origin or sexual orientation rose 2% in 2000, the bureau 
announced Monday.
    Local law enforcers reported to the FBI 8,063 incidents in 2000. The data were supplied by 11,690 local law enforcement agencies in 48 states and the District 
of Columbia whose jurisdictions include 84% of the U.S. population.
    The 2000 total was 187 more than the 7,876 hate crimes reported in 1999, 
even though the information came from 432 fewer police agencies.
    Because of the varying number of agencies reporting under the voluntary 
system established by the Hate Crimes Statistics Act of 1990, officials caution 
against drawing conclusions about trends in hate crimes between years.  They 
say the figures provide a rough picture of the general nature of hate crimes.
    Intimidation was the most frequent of hate crimes, at 35% of the total. 
Vandalism and destruction of property accounted for 29% of reported offenses, 
simple assault 17% and aggravated assault 13%. Those breakdowns were 
similar to the data in previous years.
    Nineteen people were murdered, up from 17 the year before, with 10 attributed 
to race bias, six to prejudice against ethnic or national origin, two to bias against 
sexual orientation and one to religious bias.
    In May, for instance, a white, unemployed lawyer was convicted and sentenced 
to death for killing his Jewish neighbor, a black man and men from China, India and Vietnam while driving through Pittsburgh suburbs April 28, 2000, looking for 
minorities to target.
    Other high-profile incidents in 2000 included attacks on two black churches 
and a civil rights office in South Carolina, for which two white teen-agers were convicted; a shooting outside a Memphis, Tennessee, mosque; and the spray-
painting of a mural of abolitionist Harriet Tubman at a middle school in a 
Baltimore suburb.
    As in previous years, most of the 9,430 hate crimes victims -- 55% in 2000 -- 
were targeted because of their race. Blacks were by far the most frequent victims 
of hate crimes, totaling 36% of all victims.
    Another 17% of hate crimes victims were singled out because of religion, 
followed by 16% for sexual orientation, 12% for ethnic or national origin and a 
negligible number for physical disability. Of the victims of religious prejudice, three-quarters were Jewish.

11/3/01 Dallas Morning News: "Murder suspect gives 2 reasons: Police: He said 
he shot shop owner in holdup, then called it hate crime,"
    A capital murder suspect has given conflicting reasons for shooting an Indian immigrant last month in Mesquite: He first said it occurred during a holdup, then 
called it a hate crime spurred by the World Trade Center attack, police said 
Friday.
    Mark Anthony Stroman, a 32-year-old convicted felon, initially told investigators 
that he fatally shot 49-year-old Vasudev Patel during a robbery of the immigrant's 
Shell gas station and convenience store, Mesquite police Detective Kelly Davis 
said. Mr. Stroman told police that when he fired, he was aiming only at the victim's shoulder.
    Mr. Stroman later told investigators that he was taking out his anger over the 
terrorist attacks against the United States and over a relative's death in the World Trade Center, Detective Davis said.
    The detective testified Friday during a brief evidentiary hearing before County Criminal Judge Phil Barker, who ruled that the capital murder case should be sent 
to a grand jury for consideration.
    Before setting Mr. Stroman's bail at $1 million, the judge asked Detective 
Davis whether he believed the defendant had committed a hate crime.
    "He claimed his sister died in the World Trade Center," the detective replied. 
"I have not been able to confirm that at this time."
    Detective Davis said Mr. Stroman told another investigator that his sister was 
on the 98th floor of the Trade Center during the Sept. 11 terrorist attack.
    Chief felony prosecutor Toby Shook, who handled Friday's proceeding for 
prosecutor Greg Davis, who is assigned to the case, said the case was under consideration for the death penalty.
    Asked whether the case would be tried as a hate crime, Mr. Shook said: "That 
would be obviously significant evidence as far as his intent and future 
dangerousness."
    Jim Oatman, Mr. Stroman's lawyer, said it was his understanding that Dallas 
County prosecutors and the U.S. attorney's office were investigating the possible hate-crime angle.
    And, Mr. Oatman said, "the defense is investigating it as such."
    Detective Davis testified that a security camera captured an armed man 
walking into the Shell station at 3021 Big Town Blvd. in Mesquite on Oct. 4 and 
ordering the owner to "give me the money now." When the owner tried to reach for 
a weapon, the armed robber shot Mr. Patel, who fell to the floor.
    The robber attempted to open the cash register but couldn't, so he 
commanded Mr. Patel to open it "or I'll blow your brains out," the officer said. The 
man never got any money and ran off, Detective Davis said.
    Under cross-examination by Mr. Oatman, the investigator said the videotape 
does not clearly show the armed man's face. He said a witness outside the convenience store had seen the incident but was "sketchy" on the robber's facial features.
    Detective Davis said a .44-caliber handgun recovered during Mr. Stroman's 
arrest matched the ballistics recovered from the slaying.
    Dallas County records show that Mr. Stroman has felony convictions for 
burglary, robbery, theft, and credit card abuse. The detective said Mr. Stroman 
has been to prison twice. In addition to his capital murder charge, Mr. Stroman 
faces a charge of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon.

11/2/01 Associated Press: "Hate Crime Charged in Verbal Attack on Indian 
Store," 
    A man was charged Wednesday with disorderly conduct as a hate crime for 
alleged verbal attacks against an Indian store employee, according to a criminal complaint.
    Steven Falkowski, 49, of the town of Burlington could be sentenced to two 
years in prison if convicted on the three disorderly conduct charges, two as hate 
crimes.
    The criminal complaint said Falkowski walked into a convenience store 
Oct. 12 and began yelling at employee Ranbir Singh.
    Falkowski spit on the floor and threatened to cut Singh's head off, according to reports. Singh reportedly told Falkowski he was from India, not Afghanistan, but Falkowski ignored Singh and said Singh was the Taliban.
    A witness wrote down Falkowski's license plate number as he left the station. Minutes later, a Racine County sheriff's deputy pulled over Falkowski and found 
he was driving drunk and without a license.
    Falkowski called the deputy names and spit at him after Singh identified him 
and he was arrested, reports said.
    Falkowski is the second Racine County man charged with a hate crime for 
verbally attacking a store owner of Indian descent.
    Andrew E. Savage, 40, has also been charged with disorderly conduct as a 
hate crime for screaming at the owner of a Union Grove convenience store just 
after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the East Coast.

Nov. 2001 Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund: 
    On July 16, 2001, a 62-year-old Laotian man in Newmarket, NH, died from 
head injuries when he was pushed to the ground by his neighbor, Richard Labbe,
who blamed the victim for killing his relatives in the Vietnam War.  In fact, the 
victim fought with the Laotian Army alongside American troops during the 
Vietnam War.  
    On August 13, 2001, NH Attorney General Philip McLaughlin announced that 
Labbe would be charged with second-degree murder and a hate crime - the 
first time NH has charged anyone under the hate crime statute in a murder case.

11/1/01 Associated Press: "Five Plead Guilty in Milwaukee Anti-Asian Plot 
and Fire,"
    Five people have pleaded guilty to violating federal civil rights laws in the 
arson of an Asian family's Manitowoc home and a conspiracy to shoot members 
of an Asian family at Two Rivers.
    Federal prosecutors said the guilty pleas were entered this week in U.S. 
District Court.
    The convictions ``send a clear message that all race-motivated violence is intolerable and will be prosecuted aggressively by the Department of Justice,'' 
said Assistant Attorney General Ralph F. Boyd Jr.
    The five defendants, all from the Manitowoc area, admitted the planned 
drive-by shooting in Two Rivers was racially motivated.
    Miguel J. Rodela, 25, and Tomas Vanlannen, 22, pleaded guilty Thursday and 
face possible 10-year sentences for their part in the shooting conspiracy.
    Augustine LaBarge, 21, pleaded guilty Thursday in both cases and could be sentenced to 20 years.
    Andrew Franz, 22, admitted Tuesday to setting fire to the Manitowoc house 
and planning the shooting. He faces a possible 25-year sentence.
    Casey Lynn Tegelman, 21, pleaded guilty Wednesday in the shooting 
conspiracy. She faces a possible 10-year term.
    Another defendant, Michael Nicholson, is awaiting trial on charges that he participated in both conspiracies.
    During the plea hearings, Franz and LaBarge said that on July 28, 1998, they 
agreed with Nicholson to burn the home.
    While the family was sleeping, Nicholson and Franz poured gasoline onto 
the front porch and ignited it while LaBarge acted as a lookout, prosecutors said.
    In the drive-by case, prosecutors alleged that Nicholson, Rodela, Tegelman, Vanlannen, Franz and LaBarge conspired with other unnamed suspects to lure 
Asians from their Two Rivers home by detonating an explosive under the family's minivan, then shoot family members as they emerged from the house.
    Once they selected a house occupied by Asians, Franz and LaBarge held 
shotguns while Rodela lit the fuse on an explosive and placed it under the vehicle, 
but the defendants drove away when they saw a police car patrolling the 
neighborhood, prosecutors said.

10/25/01 Associated Press: "Two Sikhs Attacked in Seattle,"
    Two Sikhs were attacked in the suburbs around Seattle-Tacoma International 
Airport, apparently in the mistaken belief that they are Muslims, authorities said.
    A man who gave a Seattle address was jailed after a caning that sent Karnail 
Kail Singh, 47, of Renton, to the hospital for nine stitches in his head Sunday. 
Police were seeking a teen-ager in a blindside assault Saturday night on 
Rubinder Singh, 23, no relation, in Kent.
    Sikh men who grow beards and wear turbans sometimes are mistaken for 
Muslims. Sikhism is from India and has no link to those suspected to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.
    A Sikh gasoline station owner in Mesa, Ariz., was killed and a number of Sikhs 
have been assaulted since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.
    Kail Singh, a U.S. citizen from Indian and owner of the SeaTac Crest Motor Inn 
in SeaTac, wears neither a beard nor a turban.
    ``But I don't blame anybody. Maybe he's an illiterate, uneducated person,'' he 
said.
    He said his assailant entered the motel two or three weeks ago and snarled, 
``You guys go back to your country. We are coming there to kick your ass,'' then 
left.
    He said he was quoting room rates on the telephone about 8 a.m. Sunday when 
the man entered the lobby, shouted ``You still here? Go to Allah!'' and knocked him unconscious with two blows from a wood and metal cane.
    ``I'm scared. There's no security,'' Kail Singh said.
    A man known for bumming coffee along a commercial strip outside the airport 
was arrested in a bathroom near the motel.
    King County sheriff's deputies said he was jailed for investigation of second-
degree assault but also could be charged with malicious harassment, a felony 
carrying tougher penalties.
    Kent police said a witness reported hearing a boy about 14 say, ``I'm going to 
bomb on him,'' shortly before the attack on Rubinder Singh, a cab driver.
    Rubinder Singh was crossing the street about 8 p.m. Saturday when he was hit 
in the face from behind and knocked to the ground by someone who then fled the scene. He refused medical attention.
    ``It's just because of my skin color that they hit me,'' he said.


10/19/01 Los Angeles Times: "Post-Attack Incident to Draw Hate Charge: Rage 
over Sept. 11 prompted a Fullerton man to chase and threaten a Sikh couple, prosecutors say,"
    A Fullerton man who allegedly chased and threatened a man and woman he 
thought were Afghans will be charged with a hate crime that prosecutors will 
argue was motivated by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
    Jason Fulkerson, 31, will face two felony counts when he is arraigned Nov. 2.
    Police said Fulkerson chased Gurcharan Singh and his wife, Banso, and 
threatened them with a baseball bat. The Buena Park couple were selling ice 
cream from their truck in Fulkerson's neighborhood on Sept. 14.
    Fulkerson was accused of brandishing a deadly weapon, normally a 
misdemeanor.
    But because it was allegedly triggered by the attacks on New York City and 
the Pentagon, the charge will be elevated to a felony.
    That would add up to three years to the sentence if Fulkerson is convicted, 
said Deputy Dist. Atty. Mike Fell, who prosecutes hate crimes for the district 
attorney's office.
    Fulkerson will also be charged with interfering with the Singhs' constitutional 
rights.
    The Singhs say they are Sikhs, not Muslims.
    In a separate incident, a Huntington Beach man faces possible hate-crime 
charges after he allegedly made death threats against an elderly Iranian couple 
out for a morning stroll in their neighborhood on Sept. 23.
    Motorist Steven James McManus, 43, saw the 77-year-old man and 74-year-
old woman walking about 9 a.m. near their home, made an abrupt U-turn and 
asked them where they are from.
    When they replied, he allegedly yelled at them to cross the street or he would 
kill them.
    A neighbor who witnessed the incident drove the Iranian couple to their son's 
home nearby.
    Fell said his office is still investigating the incident to determine whether hate-
crime charges will be filed.

10/19/01 Associated Press: ": "Man Accused of Harassing Indian Store Owner,"
    A man has been charged with a hate crime for allegedly yelling at an Indian convenience store owner Sept. 11, apparently mistaking him for someone of 
Middle Eastern descent.
    Andrew E. Savage, 40, of Yorkville, pleaded innocent Tuesday in Racine 
County Circuit Court to a charge of disorderly conduct as a hate crime. He could 
face up to two years in prison if convicted.
    Racine County sheriff's deputies were called to a convenience store in Union 
Grove the evening of Sept. 11 after a man started yelling at the 47-year-old 
operator, Singh Hushyar, according to a criminal complaint filed last week.
    Savage reportedly asked Hushyar whether he knew people involved in the 
terrorist attacks on the East Coast and whether they conspired so he could raise gasoline prices, the complaint said.
    Hushyar told Savage he was from India. Savage allegedly ignored him and 
continued to yell at him, saying Hushyar should go back to his country, witnesses 
told deputies.
    Someone in the store told Savage to leave, and witnesses took down his motorcycle's license plate number and gave it to deputies when they arrived, the complaint said.
    Savage remained out of jail Tuesday on a $150 bond. He has an unlisted 
telephone number and could not be reached Tuesday by The Associated Press.
    Another Racine County man was arrested last week after he allegedly 
threatened to kill another gas station owner, who also is from India. Authorities 
haven't charged that man.

10/13/01 San Jose Mercury News: "Fremont Man Faces Hate Crime Charge in Blowtorch Threat,"
    A Fremont man was arrested and charged with a hate crime Friday after he 
racially insulted an Asian-American couple and then threatened them with a 
blowtorch, police said.
    It was the first time their neighbor, Verne Johnson, 40, had physically 
threatened the Indo-American man and his Filipina wife, the couple told police. 
But racial epithets were the typical manner in which he had addressed them ever 
since the couple moved into the Vineyards Condominium complex on Presidio 
Way five months ago, said Fremont police Sgt. Dan Pasquale.
    Last Sunday, when the couple went out to the common garbage area of the 
complex, passing Johnson's apartment, he told them to go back to the man's 
``own country,'' according to police reports. ``We don't want you living here.''
    When the couple returned from the garbage bin, Johnson reportedly said, 
``You don't have to worry about going anywhere.''
    Police said he then took a blowtorch to the couple's garage door to try to melt 
the lock and heat up the handle. When the man tried to stop him, Johnson 
threatened him with the blowtorch.
    Johnson was also being sought on a felony arrest warrant in San Mateo County relating to a felony drug charge, Pasquale said. He is being held in the Santa Rita 
Jail.
    Johnson's arrest marks the second reported hate crime for Fremont.
    San Mateo County prosecutors on Friday charged two 16-year-old boys with 
hate crimes after sheriff's deputies determined they called in a fake bomb threat 
last month to a Woodside High School teacher of Middle Eastern descent.
    The state Attorney General's Office announced Friday that it is investigating more than 230 anti-Arab hate crimes in six major California cities.

10/9/01 Associated Press: "Asian Students Assaulted at U. of Kentucky,"
    A Japanese student was assaulted on the University of Kentucky campus, the 
third attack on an international student there in seven days.
    Ippei Inoue, 23, a sociology major from Tokyo, was walking near the William T. 
Young Library Friday afternoon when a black pickup pulled up beside him, a 
police report said.
    A suspect in the passenger seat asked Inoue for directions, and showed him a 
piece of paper with a phone number on it, the report said. Inoue took the paper, 
but said he couldn't help the passenger. The passenger then allegedly hit Inoue in 
the face, the report said.
    Inoue reported the incident to the university, which persuaded him to file a 
police report.
    The two other attacks also took place near the library. They occurred last Friday 
and Saturday.
In the first attack, Loay Elbasyouni, a 22-year-old Palestinian student, was 
delivering  a pizza when he saw one of five men removing the pizza sign from the 
top of his vehicle.
    Elbasyouni said the men shoved him and struck him. He suffered a black eye 
and a twisted left ankle. He also said the attackers yelled slurs at him and told 
him he shouldn't be in the country.
    The next night, Sachin Nagane, a systems engineering master's degree student 
from India, was hit in the face in an incident similar to Friday's attack on Inoue. 
Nagane also said a passenger in a black pickup asked him for directions and 
lured him closer to the vehicle before striking him.
    Campus police believe the incidents are related. They released a description 
of the pickup's suspected passenger on Friday.
    He is described as a white male between 20 and 25 years old with blond hair 
and a medium build.
    In response to the attacks, the university is sponsoring a safety forum. In 
addition, an escort service will now accompany students who want to be walked 
home.

10/9/01 Associated Press: "San Diego Woman Says She Was Attacked in Hate Crime,"
    A 51-year-old Sikh said she was attacked last weekend by two men who 
stabbed her twice in the head and threatened to kill her.
    The attack on Swaran Kaur Bhullar is believed to be the first hate crime in San 
Diego County since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
    Police said they have investigated 36 suspected hate crimes following the 
terrorist attacks. The incidents include threatening phone calls, graffiti and 
vandalism, said police spokesman Dave Cohen. Three cases involve handmade explosive devices designed to release pellets. The devices were not detonated.
    Bhullar said she was attacked Sunday as she sat in her car on Mirmar Road. Two men pulled next to her on a motorcycle, opened her door and allegedly yelled, ``This is what you get for what you've done to us.''
    One of the men also allegedly said, ``I'm going to slash your throat.''
    Bhullar said she tried to protect herself but she was stabbed in the head. The 
men fled after hearing a car approach. No arrests have been made.
    She was taken to a nearby hospital where she was treated for two cuts in her 
scalp and then released.
    ``If that car hadn't driven up, I might have died,'' Bhullar told the San Diego 
Union- Tribune. ``They could have cut me and left me there and there is nothing I 
could have done.''
    People of Middle Eastern descent have been targeted across the nation since 
the terrorist strikes. A Sikh man was shot and killed at a gas station in Mesa, Ariz., several days after the hijackings.
    Bhullar is now afraid to go out in public because she was attacked. She also 
has some advice for fellow Sikhs.
    ``I just want to be in my own home, safe,'' she said. ``And I want to remind Sikhs 
and anyone who is brown to keep their car doors locked.''

Sept. 21 - Sept. 27, 2001 AsianWeek.com: "Anti-Asian, Bias-Related Incidents: 
From the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Funds Partial List of Reported Incidents

New York
A Huntington, NY, man screamed "[I am] doing this for my country" as he 
attempted to run down a Pakistani woman with his vehicle. He revved his engine 
for several minutes, put his car into drive and headed directly at the Pakistani 
woman standing on the sidewalk.
A Sikh man in Richmond Hill, Queens (a large Indo-Caribbean and Sikh 
community) was assaulted with a baseball bat and shot at with a BB gun by a 
group of people. He was seriously injured.
A Floral Park resident reported that an Indian antique store located in Jamaica, Queens was vandalized when unidentified individuals threw stones through its 
windows.
Unidentified men with a paintball gun assaulted two Sikh teenage boys in 
Richmond Hill, Queens. NYPD officers, who witnessed the attack, apprehended 
the perpetrators.
A 7-11 shop owned by a Sikh was burned down in Ronkonkoma, Long Island.
A Sikh temple in Richmond Hill, Queens was attacked by miscreants who had 
fired rubber bullets at the building.

New Jersey
A Bound Brook Sikh family awoke to vandals throwing stones through their 
living room window at 1 a.m. The Bound Brook police department has not 
identified the incident as a bias crime.
When a South Asian man driving from work in Jersey City to his home in 
Franklin Township approached a stop sign, a group of people threw garbage 
and stones at his car while they cursed and told him to "go back to his country." 
The harassment continued as he drove on Interstate 78, when a car next to him 
sped up and gestured for him to lower his window. The driver of the other vehicle cursed at him and said, "You did it!"
The 2-year-old daughter of a Woodbridge resident was playing outside her 
apartment complex when a number of teenagers started to pelt her with stones 
while yelling racial slurs.

Massachusetts
An Indian-owned convenience store was vandalized by two teens who threw a 
Molotov cocktail into the store. The teens were charged with assault with the 
intent to murder, hate crime, and malicious and willful burning.

Arizona
A gunman drove to a Mesa gas station and fired three shots, killing its Sikh 
owner, Balbir Singh Sodhi. In a wild rampage, the gunman drove to another gas 
station and shot at the Lebanese American owner, and then fired shots into the 
home of an Afghan family. Mr. Sodhi was the father of three sons, ages 22, 24, 
27. He was planning to return to India in November to live with his youngest son 
and wife. The assailant, Frank Roque, was charged with one count of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder and three counts of drive-by shooting.

California
In Los Angeles, a Pakistani man parked his vehicle at the Glendale Galleria Mall 
and returned to find it scratched across the right side with the words, "Nuke em" 
written all over.
In San Francisco, vandals threw a bag of blood on the doorstep of an immigration center that serves Arabs and the citys large Asian population. They also threw a 
large plastic bag labeled "pigs blood" on the front door of Minority Assistance 
Services in the Mission District.
An Indian American walking in the South of Market area of San Francisco was 
beaten and stabbed by a gang of individuals yelling anti-Black and anti-Arab 
epithets.
In San Mateo, California, an unlit Molotov cocktail was thrown through the window 
of a Sikh familys home. The bottle hit a 3-year old boy while he was playing with 
his toys on the couch but did not start a fire.

Ohio
A Sikh gurdwara (place of worship) was attacked when an individual threw a 
beer bottle filled with gasoline through the window. The fire was later contained.

Oklahoma
A Tulsa resident of Pakistani descent was beaten by three men and was 
hospitalized.

Texas
A Pakistani grocer in Pleasant Grove, Dallas was slain; the local police have 
not yet determined the motive for the killing.
A firesetting device was thrown at a Conoco station in Southeast Austin owned 
by a Pakistani man. No one was injured because the device fell short of the store, leaving burn marks on the sidewalk.
A southwest Houston tire store caught fire Sunday morning, two days after 
customers threatened the Pakistani owner. The customer threatened the victim: 
"You are going to come in my country and threaten me? The way you burned us, 
I am gonna to burn you and Im gonna burn your place and Im gonna burn your people."

In San Francisco: Asian Law Caucus (415) 391-1655; American Civil Liberties 
Union (415) 621-2493. In New York: Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (212) 760 9110. Nationwide: U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (800) 552-6843.

Sept. 21 - 27, 2001 AsianWeek.com: "South Asians Face Violent Backlash After
WTC Attacks"
   As Sikhs, other South Asian Americans and Arab Americans expressed their
collective grief and patriotism nationwide last week, they also had to deal with
backlash from the terrorist attacks, which erupted into an unprecedented amount
of hate violence. In one week, the New York-based civil rights organization Asian
American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) documented over 100
bias-related incidents, half of which were of a violent nature.
   In Mesa, Ariz., a gunman pulled into a gas station and killed Indian American
owner Balbir Singh Sodhi, then went to a second gas station and fired repeatedly
through a window, but missed his target: the clerk who is of Lebanese descent.
The shooter then went to an Afghani American home, where he fired several
shots. No one was injured at the last two locations.
   Mesa police Detective Tim Gaffney said Frank Roque, 42, was booked on one
count of first-degree murder, three counts of attempted murder and three counts
of drive-by shooting. Roque made his initial court appearance Sunday and bail
was set at $1 million.
   Sodhi, 49, a former Bay Area taxi driver, was a Sikh. Police are investigating
the possibility that the crimes were motivated by last week's terror attacks and
are still trying to determine whether to add hate crimes charges.
   Sodhi's relatives pointed to the fact that the gas station wasn't robbed as
evidence that Sodhi was targeted because of how he looked. Male Sikhs
traditionally wear turbans and have long facial hair.
   Another reported murder, this one in Dallas, is under investigation for possible
hate crimes. According to the Dallas Morning News, 46-year old Waqar Hasan,
a Pakistani American, was found dead in Mom's Grocery Store where he worked
late on the night of Sept. 15.
   Since nothing was stolen from the store, Hasan's family fears that the killing
may have been in retaliation to the terrorist attacks. While the police have notified
the FBI, they said, "there is nothing to prove that it was a hate crime, but nothing
to disprove it."
   Hasan left behind a wife and four daughters, ranging from 10 to 17.
   Sin Yen Ling of AALDEF said that these cases fit the profile for most hate-
related crimes because there is no other tangible motive. "I have only read the
newspaper reports about these crimes, but with no criminal motive, they really
seem to be motivated by bias."
   Ling said that since last week's attacks, AALDEF had been receiving reports
of hate crimes and bias-related incidences every hour. Many of the incidents
target South Asian Americans, especially those of Sikh descent, because of
their visibility. The Sikh religion originates from 16th century Punjab in northern
India. Today, Sikhism is the world's fifth largest religion with 20 million followers.
According to sikhs.org, the Sikh religion is based on devotion and remembrance
of God and denounces superstitions and blind rituals.
   Often the attackers in these bias-related incidents will yell out anti-Arab and
anti-Islamic sentiment, while Sikhs have nothing to do with either culture.
   "We look identical to Arabs in the East who have turbans and beards,"
Gurmeet Singh, of Hayward, Calif., said. "But here, Arabs don't dress like that.
So here, people watch the reports on the news, see us and think, 'Oh, there are
those guys.'"
   Singh is an active member of the International Sikh Youth Federation that
works with the community to further the teachings of Sikhism among youth.
   "Right now, we are trying to educate the community about ourselves, invite
them into our prayer services and show them that our religion is based on
equality and peace," Singh said. "As well as that, we are raising aid for those in
New York and Washington."
   Singh, whose three children were born in the United States, said that he had
never seen real discrimination in America until now, and he fears for the safety of
his family and friends.
   As investigators look for clues and suspects in the terrorist attacks, cases of
police racial profiling have also been affecting the South Asian American
community. On Sept. 12, as the nation fought to recover from the attacks, Sher
JB Singh was returning home to Virginia from a business trip to Massachusetts
by train. Singh, who is Sikh, said that he was following the guidelines of the
government, which were urging everyone to keep moving ahead, as he was
returning home to be with his family in this time of crisis.
   When the train stopped in Providence, R.I., the police and other law
enforcement agencies began an extensive search in the train. In a statement
issued at a press conference in Washington D.C., on Monday, Singh said: "Two
police officers came into my coach with their handguns pointing towards me, and
using extreme profanity, took me outside the train. Once outside the train, I was
handcuffed and stripped of my wallet and began to be treated as if I were the
fleeing terrorist whom they were looking for."
   Singh was very upset, saying that the Providence police department assaulted
him with derogatory remarks against his religion and appearance, despite his
repeated explanations. After bringing a lawyer in on his behalf, Singh was
released.
   Legal experts have already been expressing concern over incidents just like this.
   "I'm very worried about what's going to be done in the name of security," said
Kevin Johnson, a racial profiling and immigration expert at the University of
California at Davis Law School. About a dozen travelers of Middle Eastern
descent were detained at two New York airports on Sept. 13, only later to be
cleared of any connection with this week's terrorist attacks. It is illegal for law
officers to target someone based on ethnic appearance. Historically, courts have
also ensured that foreign nationals are guaranteed the same civil rights as U.S.
citizens.
   Ling said that one of the main reasons that AALDEF is so carefully
documenting these incidents is so they can follow up with legal assistance.
   "We are trying to monitor the New York Police Department," Ling said. "There
are many cases where Sikhs are being profiled."
   In both New York and Washington D.C., civil rights groups are working hard to
outreach to the communities and provide a place for people to come together.
On Sept. 15, AALDEF helped organize a meeting for the larger community to
strategize. In Washington D.C., on Sept. 19, a large coalition of people in the
South Asian, Asian Pacific Islander American, and Arab American communities
came together at the Japanese American World War II memorial to rally together.

9/17/01 Fort Worth Star Telegram: "Shootings examined as possible backlash,"
    A man was charged with murder and other counts Sunday in Mesa, Ariz., after
a gunman fired at two gas stations and a home, killing an Indian immigrant
inside one station, authorities said.
    No one was injured at the second station, where a Lebanese-American was
working, or the home, where a family of Afghan descent lived.
    Police are investigating the possibility that the shootings were motivated
by Tuesday's terrorist attacks. Across the country, several attacks and
threats have been reported against people of Middle Eastern and South Asian
descent.
    Police in Mesa charged Frank Roque, 42, with one count of first-degree
murder, two counts of attempted murder and three counts of drive-by
shooting. His bail was set at $1 million. Whether he has an attorney could
not be determined late Sunday.
    The East Valley Tribune reported that Roque shouted, "I stand for America
all the way," as he was handcuffed Saturday night.
    Police had not decided whether to add hate-crime charges.
    "Certainly, the bias crime is paramount in our investigators' minds," Sgt.
Mike Goulet said. "That is something we are looking at."
    The first shooting killed Balbir Singh Sodhi, 49, a Sikh. His relatives said
the gas station wasn't robbed, an indication that Sodhi was targeted because
of his appearance. Sodhi had a beard and wore a turban.
    "He wouldn't have any enemies," said his cousin, Harjit Singh Sodhi.
    The owners of the second gas station, Ali Saad and Saad Saad, said they are
certain the clerk, a U.S. citizen of Lebanese descent, was targeted because
of his ethnicity. The brothers didn't give the clerk's name.
    "In Mesa, Arizona, today, it's time for calm and rational thought," Mayor
Keno Hawker said Sunday. "These people are innocent. Because they wear a
turban on their head is no indication they are terrorists."
    Among reports nationwide: an attack on a Moroccan gas station attendant in
Palos Heights, Ill.; an attempt to run over a Pakistani woman in a parking
lot in Huntington, N.Y.; and the arrest of an armed man who tried to set
fire to a Seattle mosque.
    Sikh leaders in the Metroplex said they were saddened, but not surprised, by
news of the fatal shooting.
    "This backlash thing is accelerating like wildfire," said Jaswant Singh
Sandhu, chairman of the Sikh Temple of North Texas in Garland. "People are
afraid. Some people have been threatened. They're scared that they could be
next."
    Police patrols have been increased at the Sikh temples in Euless, Irving,
Garland and Richardson, he said.
    "Our services will continue," said Sandhu, who lives in Garland. "We're not
going to stop because we believe in one God. We are against this kind of
terrorism and we support America. Our kids were born here and we live here.
This is our homeland. We are here to stay."
    Sandhu's temple has collected $14,000 to help relief efforts in New York, he
said.
    About 450,000 Sikhs live in the United States, according to Sikh Media Watch
based in Maryland. Practitioners of the Sikh religion believe in one God, a
creator and sovereign who rules based on principles of justice and grace.
Those who practice the faith are encouraged to seek a connection to God
through meditation. The religion requires Sikhs to work hard at an honest
profession and to share the fruits of their work, religious leaders said.
The faith also places great importance on equality.
    In North Texas, a regional terrorism task force was called in Thursday after
a firebomb was thrown at a Denton mosque. No one was injured in the
firebombing, which damaged the walls outside the Islamic Society of Denton.
Threats and attacks on North Texas mosques began after Tuesday's terrorist
attacks. Mosques in Irving and Carrollton were vandalized Wednesday, and
threats were reported across North Texas.

8/19/01 Associated Press: "Asian-Owned Businesses Targeted in PA Crime Spree"
    Three burglaries at Asian-owned or operated businesses are linked, but police stopping short of saying the break-ins are ethnically motivated.  Police aren't saying what was taken in last Tuesday's burglaries in Monroeville, but ``it seems odd that all of these burglaries were (at) Asian businesses,'' said Monroeville police Chief George Polnar.
    ``We believe they were connected, but we can't be sure if they were motivated by ethnic hatred,'' Polnar said. The burglars entered each business in the same way, by breaking a front window or door.
    Polnar also said there were burglaries in the area that were not Asian businesses.
    The Taipei-Tokyo restaurant was broken into at 1:43 a.m. A half hour later, Lady Nails, a manicure salon, was burglarized, followed by the New China House restaurant an hour later, police said.
    Somebody also tried unsuccessfully to break into the East Oriental Food Store early Tuesday, Monroeville police said.
    In the neighboring suburb of Murrysville -- like Monroeville, about 15 miles east of Pittsburgh -- Hunan Kitchen was burglarized early Monday.
    Two other Asian businesses, Sesame Inn and Nails by Tran, were burglarized early Tuesday in Peters Township, about 10 miles south of Pittsburgh. Police there aren't sure the break-ins are linked to one another, but don't suspect they're related to those in Monroeville and Murrysville, about 25 miles away.
    ``We turned over all our info to the FBI, and the state police are providing leads from similar instances in the eastern part of the state,'' said Murrysville police Chief Thomas Fitzgerald. ``It's obvious something is going on here.''
    ``I've been here for 11 years,'' said Myong Shin, owner of East Oriental Food Store in Monroeville. Police told him someone tried to pry open his door Tuesday.
    ``Sometimes I forget to lock the back door, but nothing has ever happened. I hate to think someone is targeting Asian people. I'm worried about that.  It's obvious this was planned,'' Shin said.

8/12/01 Associated Press: "Race, Ethnicity Crimes Slightly Up In California, Says Report, "
    Hate crimes motivated by race and ethnicity rose slightly last year in California, but crimes driven by religion or sexual orientation fell, according to state statistics released Friday.
    Overall, the number of hate crimes reported -- about 1,960 -- was about the same as in 1999, although the number of total victims fell from 2,436 in 1999 to 2,352.
    Attorney General Bill Lockyer, who released the 2000 figures, said that although it is difficult to pick out trends from the numbers, there were two reasons for optimism: Hate crimes remained 4.7% fewer than they were at their 1996 peak, and more law enforcement agencies than ever -- 252 -- were involved in reporting such acts.
    On Aug. 10, 1999, Buford O. Furrow fired more than 70 bullets into a Jewish community center, wounding five people, and later killed Filipino-American letter carrier Joseph Ileto in a San Fernando Valley neighborhood. Furrow was sentenced in March to two life sentences without the possibility of parole.
    ``Every time we hear about another hate crime it brings us back to what happened to our brother,'' said Ileto's sister, Deena Ileto. She said hate crimes probably are underreported, ``especially among Asian-Americans and other ethnic groups, because they're afraid of retaliation or causing trouble.''
    Blacks were the most common single target for hate crimes, with 31% of the offenses directed at them. About 20% of hate crimes were directed at homosexuals, 12% against Jews, 10% against Hispanics, 7% against whites and 5% against Asians.
    Race and ethnicity were the motivating factor in 1,234 reported cases, a 5% drop from 1999. Religion was a factor in about 300 cases -- an 11% drop -- and there were 7% fewer reported cases involving sexual orientation.
    In a press conference, Lockyer singled out the city of Los Angeles and Orange County as areas with ``disappointing'' hate-crime prosecution statistics.
    Of the 65 hate-crime cases referred to the city attorney, only 11 were filed by prosecutors. Overall, filings were made in nearly 77% of the cases referred to the 58 county and six city attorneys in the report.
    Orange County's record of just three cases prosecuted as hate crimes among 11 referred ``suggests that Orange County has a lot to do to catch up with the world,'' Lockyer said.
    Officials in the offices of Los Angeles Mayor Jim Hahn -- who was city attorney last year -- and Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said many of the cases they received simply didn't rise to the level of a hate crime.
    ``If I'm walking down the street and somebody calls me a derogatory name, ... while not a great thing to do, it's not a crime,'' said Julie Wong, Hahn's press secretary.
    ``Our office takes this seriously,'' said Mike Fell, the Orange County senior deputy district attorney who oversees hate-crime prosecution. ``If people learn about tolerance ... I'll be satisfied if the numbers someday go down to zero.''

7/31/01 Los Angeles Times (Orange County Edition): "Teenager Stabbed to Death; Neighbor Is Held: Laguna Hills 17-year-old identified suspect before dying.  Large knife found at scene."
    A Laguna Hills teenager died early Monday after being stabbed several times in his driveway, and a 20-year-old neighbor was arrested shortly afterward, police said.
    Before he died at the hospital, Kenneth Chiu, 17, told police that his assailant was his next-door neighbor, Christopher Charles Hearn, 20. Officers found Hearn on his own front porch. A large knife was recovered at the scene.
    Late Monday, Hearn was being held at the Orange County Jail in Santa Ana on suspicion of murder and could be arraigned as early as today, said Sgt. Steve Doan, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff's Department.
    Investigators questioned Hearn, who is deaf and unable to speak, through a sign language interpreter.
    The attack occurred about midnight as Chiu returned home from visiting a friend, investigators said. Chiu was pronounced dead about 1:15 a.m. at Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center.
    Investigators found a racial epithet scratched onto a car at the scene and are investigating whether the attack might have been racially motivated. The car belongs to the Chiu family. Doan said it was not clear how long the scratch had been on the vehicle.
    Police and neighbors described Hearn as a troubled young man. Hearn's family could not be reached for comment, and nobody answered the door or the telephone at his home.
    Neighbor Leslie Martin, 45, said of Christopher Hearn, "He's just pure anger." About a year ago, Martin said, Hearn walked by her frontyard, raised his arm to her in a threatening gesture and punched her mailbox until it fell to the ground.
    "He's a violent person," she said. "He walked around the neighborhood a lot and couldn't control his impulses. He's very erratic."
    Police said they have answered at least two calls to the Hearn residence, once when the young man threatened his father with a hammer and another time when he had vandalized the family home. Neither incident resulted in an arrest.
    A young man who described himself as a longtime friend said Monday that Hearn can be volatile. "He's not racial, and he's not bothered by being deaf and mute," said Matt, 20, who would not give his last name.
    He said he has known Hearn since seventh grade and went to a movie with him Saturday night. "If you don't know him, though, he can have a temper," the friend said.
    Other neighbors said Hearn and Chiu had been next-door neighbors for several years, but were not friends.

"Violent Hate Crimes Against Asian and Pacific Islanders Increase in 1999: Hate 
Crime Victims Families and Friends Challenge the Media on Its Inadequate Coverage of Violence Targeting Asian and Pacific Islanders"
    Los Angeles, CA, 1/2/01 The 1999 Audit of Anti-Asian Violence: Challenging the Invisibility of Hate reveals that nationally there were 486 reported incidents of violence against Asian and Pacific Islanders (APIs) in 1999, representing a major increase over last years reported figures.  In Los Angeles County, the numbers of hate crimes reported against APIs increased from 33 to 34.  The Audit was compiled by the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium (NAPALC) and its affiliates, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC), the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) and the Asian Law Caucus (ALC).
    Despite the increase in reported hate incidents against APIs, APALC found local media coverage of hate crimes targeting APIs conspicuously lacking, considering the murder of Joseph Ileto, a Pilipino postal worker, following a high profile attack on the North Valley Jewish Community Center in August 1999 by a self-proclaimed white supremacist.
    For a copy of the 1999 Audit of Anti-Asian Violence: Challenging the Invisibility of Hate or for more information on the February 10th Conference, contact Nora Ramos, Asian Pacific American Legal Center at (213) 977-7500 extension 224. 

"Anti-Asian Hate Crimes on the Rise: Advocates say under-reporting of crimes still pervasive," Jan. 12-18, 2001 AsiaWeek.com
http://www.asianweek.com/2001_01_12/news1_antiasiancrimerising.html  

"Sadly, even [University of California at Davis] can't avoid hate," 1/5/01 Sacramento Bee
http://www.sacbee.com/lifestyle/news/lifestyle02_20010105.html  

"4 German Extemists Arrested in Racial Attack," 12/28/00 Dallas Morning News, p. 10A.
    Four youths in Guben, Germany were arrested in the stabbing of a man of Asian heritage.  The right-wing extremists shouted anti-foreigner slogans at the victim, whose mother is Asian, then attacked him with a knife on Dec. 26, 2000.  He suffered an inch-long stab wound in the back.  One of the suspects was among 11 youths convicted in November 2000 in a 1999 mob attack on two foreign residents chased through Guben.  One of the men, 28 year old Omar Ben Noui, an Algerian asylum- seeker, crashed through a glass door while attempting to flee and bled to death from a severed artery.

"Violence Spotlights Lao Community: Advocates fear incident was hate-related," December 8 - 14, 2000 AsianWeek.com
http://www.asianweek.com/2000_12_08/news1_loabeating.html 
    In the aftermath of the brutal beating of a 50-year old Laotian man in Baltimore, community groups are pushing for a hate crimes investigation, while family members struggle to make sense out of a senseless act.
    Early one Saturday morning in August, Somahn Thamavong  was walking toward a bus stop when he was confronted by two black males. Thamavong was beaten unconscious with a broomstick. Nearby residents watched as Thamavong tried to escape back to his own home. He was later rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was admitted in critical condition after having suffered severe brain trauma.
    The two suspects, a 14-year-old and a 16-year-old, have since been apprehended. The 14-year-old was found guilty of first degree assault, second degree assault and assault with a deadly weapon. The 16-year-old, who faces the same charges, has yet to face trial.
    Three months after the attack, the Thamavong family, Southeast Asian American community groups in and around Baltimore, and Asian American legal advocacy groups are urging authorities to conduct a hate crimes investigation since no other motive was determined.
    Neither the police nor the State Attorneys office, which is prosecuting the case, thinks there is enough evidence for a hate crimes charge to be added.
    In terms of the criminal justice system, there has to be an intent. The perpetrator has to have a reason to commit the crime, like the intent to rob or rape, said Sin Yen Ling, of the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF). In this case, investigators can find no motive.
    According to the Department of Justices hate crimes training guide, a lack of motive may be an indicator of a hate crime.
    An editorial in the local Baltimore Sun, written by Gregory Kane, reported that after the beating the assailants were found hanging out on a nearby street corner and were overheard bragging about what they did to the Asian man.
    But Ling said other factors aside from the racial comment that was overheard indicate the incident may be classified as a hate crime.
    For one, the extreme violence of the act fits the pattern seen in most hate crimes. Thamavong was nearly beaten to death and witnesses say the attack continued even after he had fallen unconscious.
    The crime was very egregious, Ling said. The attackers then stole a few dollars and the inexpensive watch Thamavong was wearing. This case was obviously not motivated by robbery. It was almost like the robbery was an afterthought.
    Marylands changing demographic could also be a factor indicating the incident was motivated by hate, Ling said. Preliminary U.S. 2000 census estimates rank Maryland as the state with the 11th largest API population, with a 48 percent increase in the last 10 years. When there is a jump in a particular population, hate crimes cases tend to increase.
In fact, the Maryland governors office documented an increase in hate crimes from none in 1998 to 33 in 1999.
    Maryland still has really ambiguous laws dealing with hate crimes, Ling said. The DOJ has even noticed that Maryland authorities have a real lack of priority when it comes to dealing with hate crimes. They dont like to touch anything related to hate or race.
    The State Attorneys office and the Baltimore police adamantly deny that this case has anything to do with race.
    There has been no evidence whatsoever to support the idea that this was a hate crime, Sergeant Shelia Savaliski, of the Baltimore Police Department, said. The only thing that makes this case different than any other assault case is the race of the victim.
    Savaliski said that other than rumor, they have nothing on which to base a further investigation. It was a very heinous crime and if anyone has any further information on a motive then they should come forward, but other than that there is nothing to go on.
    The resistance of the police and state authorities, Ling said, is not surprising. Ling explained that most states have a very narrow definition of a hate crime and investigate only if explicit evidence, such as a racial slur or swastika, is documented.
    We are not saying that what happened here was necessarily a hate crime, Ling said. But if there is a possibility, then there should be a thorough investigation.
    Since Ling and AALDEF began demanding an investigation, prosecutor Patricia Coats Jessamy has attempted to change the charges. Some say she has acted to avoid the possibility of any hate crimes investigation. For example, the prosecutor added a robbery charge even though money was clearly not the motive. The judge in the case, however, has since dropped the robbery charges.
    Meanwhile, Thamavong, who spent three weeks in the hospital, is recovering from the injuries at home and attends therapy twice a week.  He still suffers from memory loss and has recognition problems.
    Since the Thamavongs family has no medical insurance, finding a way to pay for his mounting medical bills has been particularly stressful.  Doctors have recommended that Thamavong, who used to work for an asbestos removal company, abstain from working for one year.  Meanwhile, his family worries that he may never be able to work again.
    Right now my mom is the only one working and she only works part time, said Thamavongs son, Soonthorn Thamavong, who is the only one of four children still living at home.
    Last month 20-year-old Soonthorn threw a rave to help out. He did all the planning and promotion and convinced the DJs to all spin for free.  I billed it as a rave for my father and it went really well, said Soonthorn, who raised over $800 dollars and plans to organize another one in the future.
    Soonthorn, who attends a nearby junior college, said that his family has lived in the same neighborhood in Southeastern Baltimore since they had arrived in the United States 20 years ago. But in the past decade, the area has deteriorated, he said, and most people are scared to spend time outside.
    Since what happened with my father, there has been a cop car on the street here, which is a good thing, Soonthorn said.
    Shortly after his dad was beaten, a group of some 25 Laotian and other Asian American youths gathered outside the Thamavong home for a protest rally and vigil. Some wanted to retaliate, but Soonthorn warned them that more violence was not the solution.
    A black person did this to us but I cant hate all black people. Our parents taught us right, Soonthorn said. We went to schools where the majority of people were black. And we are minorities, too. Dealing with a situation like this is really hard, really complicated.

11/11/00 from: Bill Yoshino of the Illinois Asian American Hate Crime Network.
    A hate crime incident occurred in Shawano, Wisconsin (same county as Green Bay) on November 4.  An Asian couple had pulled to the side of the highway to switch drivers when a pickup with two white men stopped in front of them.  One of the men approached the car and asked the couple where they were from and where they were going.  After he returned to his pickup, the couple drove off.  Shortly thereafter, the couple saw the pickup approaching them from behind at a high rate of speed.  The couple responded by swerving off the road onto the grass and gravel.  Over the course of a short period of time the men in the pickup again attempted to force them off the road. 
    The couple called the police on their cell phone and police responded quickly witnessing some of the incident.  When the men were pulled over, they made remarks such as "There shouldn't be gooks on this highway" and "This is our country, and "They shouldn't be out here anyway."  After the men
were placed under arrest and taken to the Shawano Jail they kept making remarks such as "Fuck those slant eyes."  They claimed membership in the Northeastern Wisconsin White Aryan Brotherhood.
    The two men were charged with reckless endangerment and a hate crime.  The charge carries a maximum fine of $10,000 or 10 years.  With the hate crime it is increased to $15,000 or 15 years.  A hearing was held earlier this week and another hearing is set for later this month.  I'll be sending a letter to the district attorney indicating our concern and I'll contact some Asian American organizations in Wisconsin to urge that they also follow-up with this.

Dear Napaba,
    Hi, my name is Melissa Hu.  I am co-president of a student organization called Asian Pacific Americans for Action at Cornell. The mission of our organization is to develop an educational forum promoting discourse on socio-political issues affecting the Asian Pacific American community both on campus and nationally.   Recently, a series of bias-related assaults and
harassment against Asian American students has occurred on the campus of Cornell. 
    I am asking for a nationally recognized Asian Pacific American organization to support student initiatives to ask Cornell University administrators to take a pro-active stance in addressing this issue and recent crisis within the Asian American community here on our campus. 
    In the month of September, three incidences involving the assault and harassment of Asian females occurred on our campus:
    **Saturday, September 16 around 12:30 am, an Asian female student was assaulted while walking home from the Statler Hotel School.  A car of white males drove past shouted racial epithets at her.  She shouted back an obscenity.  The same car approached her shortly thereafter.  Two of the occupants got out.  They pushed the girl to the ground, restrained and fondled her.  More racial epithets were said before she was released. This incident is being classified as a hate crime by the police.
    **On the weekend of Homecoming, September 22nd, four Asian female alumnae were verbally harassed at a major intersection on Central Campus.  Ethnic slurs were shouted out from a car of white males. 
    **At 11 a.m. on a day between Sept. 18 and Sept. 22, two unknown males stopped their vehicle on Jessup Road of North Campus and started walking toward an Asian-American female student expressing racial epitaphs. The student began to flee in the opposite direction and the assailants failed to further pursue her.  Aside from intimidation, there was no physical contact.
    **The most recent incident took place in the early morning hours on October 16.  An Asian male was walking down an intersection of East Ave. and Tower Road when a white car full of Caucasian males drove by shouting racial slurs.  No more details on this incident have been released, but it has been classified by police as a Hate Crime.
    Cornell Police and Administration have been extremely slow and reluctant in responding to these incidences. The incident of sexual assault was not brought to public attention until a week after it had occurred.  President Hunter Rawlings' statement which was issued November 6, a good three weeks after the initial attack, referred to these incidents in context to a greater problem of safety on our campus.  He failed to address these
incidents in as by-products of bias, ignorance, and hate, thus, once again, overlooking the overriding issue of tolerance and
diversity that Cornell has historically struggled for. 
    The entire minority community has been extremely distressed by the way the administration appears be handling this issue.  Assaults on minority students have become a growing trend at Cornell in the past few years.  Administration has often times avoided to take responsibility by relying on vagueries of prejudice and the fact that people and the locations involved
in these incidents lied outside of school jurisdiction.  However, it seems, in this case, that their reluctance may have allowed for the continuation of harassment against Asian females on
campus, as was only realized later when incidents of similar nature came to light.
    This trend of harassment, assault, and violence against Asian American college students appears to be not only a trend on our campus, but nation wide (i.e. Denny's in Syracuse, Binghamtom).  This is a growing problem in our country that involves false stereotypes and misunderstanding of Asian
Americans.  As the largest minority community at many colleges and universities, it is important that Asian Americans are provided a comfortable, safe, and accepting environment for education at our universities.
    I am asking for your support in urging our university to recognize the voice of Asian Americans and of minority students, on our campus.  One way in which we would appreciate your support is drafting a letter addressed to Vice President Susan Murphy urging her, as well as President Hunter Rawlings, to issue a direct statement that reassures students racial intolerance and bigotry will not be tolerated on school campus.  Asian Americans compose a large percentage of college students.  At Cornell, they represent approximately 17% of the student population. We have the right and need to feel safe and welcome on our campuses.  Please urge the university to be proactive in responding and remedying this situation. Please address letters and comments to Susan Murphy at:shm1@cornell.edu phone number: 607-255-7595
    This series of incidences has already been covered by our local papers, A. Magazine, the Village Voice, New York Times, The New York Daily News, Newsweek, as well as national syndicated Chinese and Korean newspapers about these incidents.  As this issued receives more national attention, we also feel it pertinent to seek for national support. 
    Your support is important to us in furthering our goals for change.  Please contact me or my co-president Lisa Wang for more information or if you would like to help us in other forms of support.  You can also get more information from our website at:
http://www.rso.cornell.edu/capsu/apaa.  Thank you.
    Melissa Hu
Co-president of APAA (Asian Pacific Americans for Action)
msh24@cornell.edu

11/3/00 and 11/1/00 Cornell Daily Sun: Assaults of Asian-American Students at Cornell.  Four bias-related incidents have occurred on campus this semester. In the first case, an Asian female student was sexually assaulted and intimidated in mid-September.  In the second and third cases, an Asian female student and four Asian alumnae, respectively, were verbally harassed within a week of the assault.  In a fourth case which occurred last weekend, an Asian male student was also verbally harassed on Tower Road.  Many have begun to wonder whether the acts of intolerance are merely isolated cases or whether they are part of a larger pattern of hate crimes.  "[The bias-related incidents] seem unusually prevalent this year," said Melissa Hu '02, co-president of Asian Pacific Americans for Action 
(APAA).  LeNorman Strong, assistant vice president for student and academic services agreed with Hu.  "I am definitely concerned that there appears to be a pattern of  bias- related incidents against Asian students," he said. "I find this unconscionable and very painful. If such a pattern exists, then we need to understand it very quickly."  Student groups demanded changes in the University's safety policy, student life and academic curriculum.  Some goals for improving student life include expanding freshman  orientation to include workshops on racial and sexual relations and to promote resident adviser forums.  The APAA has also suggested that ethnic and women's studies courses become more incorporated into the University's academic curriculum through freshman writing seminars, distribution requirements and one-credit seminars.

10/26/00 California Aggie: "Hate crime strikes UCD students" 
    Five Davis residents recently fell victim to a hate crime, 
possibly at the hands of some fellow UC Davis students.  The victims, several of whom are also UCD students, were involved in the attack at the Arlington Farms apartment complex on Portage Bay Drive in Davis on Oct. 13. 
    Events surrounding the attack began when the group of male victims were involved in an altercation with another group of males in the parking lot of the complex. According to three of the victims, who wished to remain anonymous, the subjects in the other car became angry and hostile after the victims honked at them to move their car. 
    Both the victims and the suspects subsequently exited their cars and engaged in an argument.  Additionally, a small skirmish erupted between one of the victims and three of the males in the other car.  Officers from the Davis Police Department who were already at the location for another incident, broke up the initial fight. 
    After returning to their apartment, one of the victims answered a knock at the door.  A man who claimed to be a neighbor told the victim that he was having a barbecue the next day and invited the victim to attend. It was at that point that a group of approximately 15 males overpowered the victim standing at the door and rushed into the apartment. 
    For the next several minutes, the group of males proceeded to beat and verbally abuse the five victims, all of whom are of Asian descent. According to three victims, the attackers outnumbered them three to one. 
    In addition to the physical abuse inflicted upon the victims, the suspects used racial slurs during the attack, constituting the event as a hate crime. 
    "There were about three guys for every one of us," one victim said. "One guy held me down while the other two beat me. They were saying 'we're going to get you chinks.'" 
    One victim said he has been able to identify three of the suspects involved to DPD. The victims believe that the attack is linked to the initial altercation in the parking lot. According to Lt. Steve Pierce of the DPD, officers also suspect a causal link.  Officers arrested two suspects. Both individuals are UCD students and are 18 and 19 years old.  
    According to Lt. Pierce, the two suspects have been charged with assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and committing a hate crime. Lt. Pierce noted that the latter charge will be the most difficult to prosecute.  "(Hate crimes) are tough," he said. "You take them on a case by case basis in order to analyze them. Just saying racial slurs is not a crime, but battering the victims and using racial slurs which seemed to be motivating them at least in part is a crime."  The victims' injuries were minor. Property within the apartment was also damaged, and $400 cash was also taken.

"Chicago Rapist Still at Large: Community Calls on Police for Better Ethnic Outreach."  June 29 - July 5, 2000 Asian Week.  The Asian American community of Chicago has been put on alert for a serial rapist who has been targeting Asian American women
http://www.asianweek.com/2000_06_29/section_national.html

6/12/00 The Dartmouth "Class of 2000 story told in numbers": The class of 2004 had the fewest minority students of any class in the last five years.  Only 7.9% of the class was Asian-American, 4.7% African-American, 3.7% Latino and 1.5% Native American.  Dean of Admissions Karl Furstenburg speculated that the racist slurs written on the doors of Asian students at the College during Winter term of that year may have discouraged some minority students from enrolling.

4/28/00: Richard Bauhammers, a 34-year-old lawyer, was arrested after he allegedly went on a shooting rampage in suburban Pittsburgh on Friday, killing five people and critically wounding a sixth. Police said some of the attacks could be hate crimes.

Baumhammers allegedly shot and killed two employees at the Ya Fei Chinese Restaurant, a person of Indian descent at an
Indian grocery story, a black karate student at the CS Kim Karate School and a member of one of two synagogues he had also shot at.

Funds have been created for the victims.  For more information, call Aryani Ong at (202) 296-2300

Fill out the College Anti-Asian Violence Survey 

Anti-Asian Violence Audit

On behalf of the Asian Law Caucus in S.F. and the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium in D.C., I am requesting any information regarding incidents of anti-Asian violence in 1999/2000 for inclusion in our annual audit on hate crimes.

Each year, our audit relies heavily upon reports of community members to supplement the official police statistics and in a period where we've experienced at least five hate crime murders against APAs in the past two years, it is critical that we get feedback from the community to document this growing problem.

If you have any information, please e-mail me at asianlawcaucus@hotmail.com or call me at (415) 391-1655x31. We do not need to use your name, but would appreciate any details on ethnicity, type of crime, date/location of incident and police response. Thanks for your help. I would appreciate it if you would circulate this call for information and post to any relevant sites.

Victor M. Hwang
Staff Attorney
Hate Violence Project
Asian Law Caucus
asianlawcaucus@hotmail.com 

Beating at State University of New York in Binghamton, February 27, 2000

Fatal shooting of Kyung-Ho Law

February 2000

Dear NAPABA colleagues,

In a similar vein, I wanted you to know that my law firm, Nagel Rice Dreifuss & Mazie, has been retained to represent the La family regarding the fatal shooting of Kyung-Ho Law (30 year-old Korean American) by 6 uniformed South Brunswick, NJ police officers.

According to the press and the La family, a neighbor of the La family called the police to report his suspicion that Kyung-Ho had broken car windows on their street; however, the La family car also had broken windows. When the 6 police officers arrived at the La residence, Mr. and Mrs. La as well as Kyung-Ho told the police that they had no involvement, and they rejected the officers' request to search the family home. Reportedly, police ordered Mr. and Mrs. La into a patrol car, and then the officers entered the La home, where Kyung-Ho was shot.

Accounts by the officers vary; one version is that Kyung-Ho ran to the garage and picked up a tool, and the officers entered the garage, and then chased the victim into the house, ultimately shooting him because he brandished a knife. Another version is that the victim threatened to kill himself with a knife, and then was shot fatally.

Regardless of the version, the law firm intends to hold a press conference in conjunction with NJ APA community groups, and is consulting w/ AALDEF on the prosecution of the police officers.

Unfortunately, the Assistant Prosecutor w/ whom I met yesterday admitted that he had not tried to preserve 911 or other tapes, and had not yet interviewed each of the 6 police officers. In addition, he had not yet investigated why the South Brunswick police cleaned, rather than preserved, the crime scene. The La family home was cleaned and put together after Mr. and Mrs. La returned from the hospital, after their son died. Mr. and Mrs. La are credible, reasonable, sympathetic people.

Donna Chin
Nagel Rice Dreifuss & Mazie
301 South Livingston Ave.
Livingston, New Jersey 07039
973-535-3100 ext. 107 (phone)
973-535-3373 (fax)
[mailto:donnacchin@home.com]

Naoki Kamijima was shot to death in his store in Crystal Lake, Illinois on April 5, 1999.  Prior to entering Kamijima's general store, alleged assailant Douglas Vitaioli entered another store with a weapon, asking what the ethnicity of the employees were.  Soon thereafter, he entered Kamijima's store and shot him.   Vitaioli is charged with first degree murder and a hate crime.  Kamijima, 48, immigrated to the U.S. 20 years ago.  He is survived by his wife Cindy, 16 year old Craig and 14 year old Erica.  The Kamijima Education Fund has been established for the future education of Craig and Erica, who are considering careers in marine biology, journalism or accounting.  Checks payable to the Kamijima Education Fund may be sent to: Japanese American Service Committee, 4427 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL  60640.   For further info, contact the Organization of Chinese- Americans-Chicago chapter at (312) 458-0832 or ocachicago@aol.com.

February 25, 1999: Four Men Convicted in Racial Beating of Chinese Restaurant Owner in New Jersey

A Passaic County jury today convicted four men in the racially-motivated beating of Mr. Zhigen Lin, a Chinese restaurant owner in Paterson, New Jersey.  Allen Scott and Lashawn Jones were convicted of 2nd degree assault, which carries a maximum 10 year prison sentence, and riot.  Reginald Cockfield and Hencer Harmon were convicted of simple assault and riot, which carry a maximum of 6 months jail time.  The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) has been advocating on behalf of the Lin family and monitored the three-week trial.

The attack took place on May 17, 1997, when a group of men shouting racial slurs used bricks, bottles and sticks to beat Mr. Lin outside his take-out restaurant.  The incident began when one of the men yelled racial insults at restaurant employees after they were unable to give him change for a dollar. Mr. Lin was in a coma as a result of the attack, was hospitalized in critical condition for one month and required several months of rehabilitation.  His wife was forced to run the restaurant by
herself while caring for her two young children.  Because of the emotional and financial hardship following the brutal attack, the family was forced to sell the restaurant, their only means of income.

Nine men were initially charged with the beating.  Prior to the trial, four of the men pled guilty to lesser charges.  Of those, Ronald Wright is expected to receive a 7 year prison sentence and Harold Logan, a 5 year prison term.  Unable to make bail, Sherman Wright already served 13 months in jail and is expected to get time served and Gary Winfried is
expected to receive probation.  Charges against Kiyon McKnight will be dropped after he testified against the four men on trial.

Mr. Lin, Mrs. Lin and their 14-year old son Ming, who witnessed the attack, testified at the trial through an interpreter.

"We urge Judge Marmo to send a strong signal that adult men who participate in a racially-motivated group attack of a defenseless man will be severely punished," said Elizabeth R. OuYang, AALDEF staff attorney who monitored the entire three week trial.  "We ask that the convicted assailants be given the maximum prison time."

Sentencing is scheduled for April 16th.  Concerned persons can write to Judge Ronald Marmo, Passaic County Superior Court, 77 Hamilton Street, 5th Floor, Paterson, NJ 07505 to ask for the maximum sentence to be imposed against all the convicted attackers.

AALDEF monitored the trial with the Organization of Chinese Americans-NJ chapter, Seton Hall and Rutgers law students, and the Asian American Bar Association of New Jersey.

AALDEF is the first organization on the East Coast to protect and promote the legal rights of Asian Americans through litigation, legal advocacy and community education.  Founded in 1974, AALDEF focuses on the critical issues facing Asian Americans, including immigrant rights, voting rights, economic justice for workers, language rights, affirmative action and
the elimination of anti-Asian violence and police brutality.  For more information, contact Elizabeth R. OuYang, Esq. or Claire Hsiang at AALDEF 212-966-5932.