Sacramento police arrest two men for hate crimes towards Asian women
SOUTH SACRAMENTO — Sacramento police have announced arrests for crimes in April and May that targetted Asian women.
"It makes me very nervous knowing that we're just everyday shopping and we have to be careful just returning to our car," said Sophia Tong.
Sophia Tong grabbed a snack with friends knowing it's not always safe to be out here alone. It's the same South Sacramento area along Stockton Boulevard where the thieves physically assaulted Asian women, stealing thousands of dollars in cash, jewelry, and other personal belongings.
"It's scary because I do DoorDash and stuff like that, so I'm in this area a lot and moving around by myself. So it is really scary," said Chartonnay Corpud.
Police arrested 20-year-old Latravion Mccockran and a 17-year-old male after recovering evidence related to the robberies and illegal handguns.
"Our community is now standing up. Our community has now decided enough is enough. We have to report this so that this stops," said Stephanie Nguyen, the Executive Director for Asian Resources.
Asian Resources is a safe center where the Asian community can anonymously report hate crimes. Nguyen says the reports continue coming in.
"It's absolutely sad to see that this is still going on but I think the more we don't let it die and go away, right, just because you haven't heard about it for the last two months doesn't mean that it's not happening," said Nguyen.
"It's crazy honestly. And me, I'm Asian myself, and it's really scary," said Corbud.
The recent arrests bring hope, but people like Sophia Tong are not letting their guard down.
"It's very sad. I think it's something that shouldn't be experienced at this age, and I hope there can be awareness of different cultures, so there aren't these phobias," said Tong.
Sacramento Police say detectives continued their investigation after the arrests and located additional evidence indicating that the victims were targeted due to their race.
The Sacramento County District Attorney's Office added a hate crime enhancement to the robbery charges filed against both suspects.
