LOS ANGELES — A Southern California man pleaded guilty Wednesday to a federal charge for punching an Asian American woman in the head in Culver City while he shouted racial slurs at her.
Jesse Allen Lindsey, 38, a transient whose last known address was in Fontana, entered his plea to one hate crime count, a felony offense that carries a possible maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Sentencing was scheduled for March 3.
According to the indictment, at roughly 1 a.m. on June 14, 2021, the victim was walking to work in Culver City when Lindsey, a White man, asked her for a lighter or cigarette.
She responded that she did not smoke. Lindsey then began following her and yelled at the woman, whom he perceived to be an Asian American man, “You … Asian guy, turn around.”
Lindsey called the victim “Korean” and shouted, “You … Asian guy, you don’t belong here,” the indictment states.
The indictment, filed in May in Los Angeles federal court, further states that, as captured on surveillance video, Lindsey yelled at the victim, “You can’t say hi to a … White boy?”
Lindsey then punched the woman in the head, causing her to fall into the street and hit her head. While the victim was face down in the street, Lindsey shouted, “You hear what I said … I said good morning, bitch!” federal prosecutors said.
Emergency personnel later took the victim to a hospital, where she received 11 stitches in her face. As a result of the attack, the victim sustained injuries to her head and ear, which left her unable to work for one month and caused ongoing pain for one year, the indictment states.
When he later learned from news reports that law enforcement was investigating the incident as a hate crime, Lindsey, fearful that hate crimes receive greater punishment, left California, according to the indictment.