Tammel Esco, charged with attempted murder in brutal anti-Asian attack in Yonkers, has lengthy criminal record
YONKERS, N.Y. -- A woman from the Philippines is recovering from a vicious anti-Asian attack in Yonkers.
The suspect is charged with attempted murder as a hate crime and has a long criminal history, CBS2's Tony Aiello reported Monday.
Wendy Trinidad reacted with horror to surveillance video of the hate crime committed in the lobby of her building.
"I'm in shock. I know nowadays a lot of mental issues, but that is just unbelievable," Trinidad said.
It's hard to watch the video of 42-year-old Tammel Esco assaulting his 67-year-old neighbor. Esco threw 125 punches and seven vicious kicks, then twice spit on the woman and used anti-Asian slurs.
The victim is well liked by neighbors.
"She's very, very nice ... Two daughters ... Her husband passed. He was a mailman, I remember that," neighbor Sken Shabaj said.
A witness told CBS2 Esco walked outside and screamed incoherently at passersby after the assault. Police arrived quickly and took him into custody.
"We're gonna file this as a hate crime, and we're charging attempted murder based on the number of strikes and the length of the attack," Yonkers Police Commissioner John Mueller said.
Esco has 14 arrests and multiple convictions on his record, Mueller said.
In Feb. 2021, Esco pushed a woman through a plate glass window. She was not seriously hurt, but Esco was given conditional discharge and no jail time. CBS2 learned Esco entered a five-month inpatient program for substance abuse after his arrest last year. He previously served 42 months in prison for a 2010 stabbing.
The attack on March 11 has frightened other Asians in the neighborhood.
"I come home 9:00, I have to be always watching whoever is there, you know?" said Olivia Solano, one of the victim's neighbors.
Police said the victim has severe injuries and faces a long road to recovery.
Esco is being held without bail.
