Antisemitic slurs allegedly preceded beatdown in San Jose, police say; 3 men face charges

"In the March 8 incident outside a restaurant at Santana Row, two people standing on the sidewalk exchanged words with three men who approached them before the confrontation turned physical, according to a San José Police Department report. Investigators wrote that one of the suspects allegedly yelled anti-Jewish slurs before all three began punching the two victims, knocking them to the ground and continuing the assault for several seconds."

"One victim told officers that one of the men said "F- Jews," and believes the only reason the pair were attacked is because they were speaking Hebrew at the time, according to the police report."

"To file hate crime charges in California, prosecutors must prove that bias motivation was a substantial factor in committing the crime."

Three men were arrested for a violent assault on March 8 outside a restaurant at Santana Row in San Jose. The incident began when two victims exchanged words with three suspects, which escalated into a physical confrontation. One suspect allegedly yelled antisemitic slurs before all three men punched the victims repeatedly on the ground. One victim reported hearing "F- Jews" and believes the attack occurred because they were speaking Hebrew. The Santa Clara County district attorney filed felony and misdemeanor charges against Bruneil Henry Chamaki, Roma Akoyans, and Ramon Akoyans, but hate crime charges were not initially included. Investigators continue reviewing the case to determine if hate crime charges under California statute 442.6 PC should be filed, which requires proving bias motivation was a substantial factor in the crime.

Read at Los Angeles Times