Washington State Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Hate Crime in Attack on Sikh Man
Defendant Beat Victim, Left Lasting Injuries
| U.S. Department of Justice June 27, 2013 |
WASHINGTON—The Department of Justice today announced Jamie Larson, 49, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Seattle to a federal hate crime relating to a racially motivated assault of a 50-year-old Sikh man who works as a taxi cab driver.
Jamie Larson pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act that was enacted in October 2009. The indictment alleges that on October 17, 2012, Larson assaulted the victim, who is from India, based upon the victim’s actual and perceived race, color, and national origin, which includes Middle Eastern and Arab descent. The defendant was arrested at the scene of the attack after a witness called 911.
According to the documents filed in court, the victim was called to drive Larson to an address in Federal Way, Washington. When the taxi arrived at the destination, the driver got out of the taxi, and Larson got out and attacked the driver, grabbing his beard, pulling him to the ground, and punching and stomping on his head and body. Larson uttered racial slurs and insults about the vicitm’s perceived ancestry during the attack. The victim suffered damage to his back, shoulder, and kidney. He was hospitalized for more than a week and has undergone lengthy physical therapy.
“This case is a testament to the Justice Department’s dedication to vigorously investigate and prosecute all racially motivated attacks,” said Roy L. Austin, Jr., Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “It is unacceptable that violent acts of hate committed because of someone’s race and ethnicity continue to occur, and the department will continue to use every available tool to identify and prosecute hate crimes whenever and wherever they occur.”
“Acts of hate, such as this one, hurt not only the victim, but tear at our social fabric. They cannot be tolerated in our community,” said U.S. Attorney for the Western Distrcict of Washington Jenny A. Durkan. “The Shepard-Byrd Act is an important tool for holding defendants accountable.”
The charge carries a statutory maximum of 10 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled in front of U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour on November 5, 2013.
The Shepard-Byrd law criminalizes acts of physical violence causing bodily injury motivated by any person’s actual or perceived race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability.
The matter was investigated by the Seattle Division of the FBI. The Federal Way Police Department provided significant support in this prosecution. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce F. Miyake of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington and Trial Attorney Nicholas Durham of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.