A New York man who allegedly punched an Asian woman more than 100 times has been indicted on hate crimes charges
By Sonia Moghe and Alaa Elassar, CNN
A man allegedly seen in surveillance video punching an elderly Asian woman more than 100 times and stomping on her body in Yonkers, New York, has been indicted on multiple hate crime charges.
Tammel Esco, 42, was indicted on attempted murder in the second degree as a hate crime, attempted murder in the second degree, assault in the first degree as a hate crime, assault in the first degree, three counts of assault in the second degree as a hate crime and three counts of assault in the second degree.
He was arraigned on the indictment Tuesday. He pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail, a spokeswoman for Westchester District Attorney’s office said. Esco’s next court appearance is August 2.
CNN has reached out to Esco’s attorneys for comment.
Graphic surveillance video of the incident posted by Yonkers police shows the brutal March 11 attack, which took place after the 67-year-old woman, who is of Filipino descent, allegedly walk past Esco. Prosecutors said he called her “Asian b*tch” shortly before the attack.
Video shows the woman walking into her apartment building vestibule and putting her keys in the door as Esco allegedly enters the building behind her and punches her in the head, knocking her to the ground.
After she fell to the ground, Esco punched her more than 100 times, stomped on her body repeatedly and spit on her, according to the felony complaint.
The woman suffered brain bleeding, multiple facial fractures, among other injuries, prosecutors said.
Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, thousands of people in the US have been victims of anti-Asian incidents, from verbal abuse to physical attacks.
From March 19, 2020, to March 31, 2022, nearly 11,500 hate incidents against Asian American and Pacific Islander people were reported to Stop AAPI Hate, an organization that tracks reports of racism and discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
Yonkers is a city of more than 211,000 people in the New York City suburbs, about 17 miles north of Manhattan.
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