The Bay Area is home to one of the largest Asian and Pacific Islander populations in the entire country -- it has also been a hotbed for the recent spike in violent hate crimes against the aforementioned community. Six men have been arrested in connection with a string of robbery attacks on Asian American women, committing over 200 heists in Nothern California.
According to the San Jose Police Department, Anthony Michael Robinson (24), Cameron Alonzo Moody (27), Derje Damond Banks (23), Hassani Burleson Ramsey (24), Clarence Jackson (21), and Malik Short (21) all had been targeting women of Asian descent throughout various parts of the Bay Area and Santa Clara County. It is also being reported that this team of criminals coordinated and executed more than 70 heists in San Jose and as many as 177 throughout the San Francisco Bay Area during a one-year span.
The efficiency of their criminal activity was predicated on stalking their victims as a team and closing in on them at secluded locations. But according to the District Attorney, Jeff Rosen, there were other reasons why this group sought to harm women of Asian descent.
"They targeted Asian women because they thought Asian women don't use banks and they made other ethnic slurs against Asians which I won't repeat here," Rosen said.
The crew collectively stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and belongings. Each of the accomplices was arrested for these wrongdoings between the months of September and November of this year. One of the suspects faces up to 95 years in prison if convicted on all charges.
Upon the apprehension of the six men, the San Jose Police Department issued a stern warning to anyone who dared to follow in their footsteps and stated, "Criminals who wish to target you because of your ethnicity, or your gender, will be met with the tenacity of the finest police officers, detectives, and attorneys in the nation, and this case is a great example of that."
Source: The Washington Post
