Three charged in San Francisco laundromat assault of Asian man
SAN FRANCISCO – –
Suspects attacking an Asian man in the SF laundromat appear in court
Henry Lee from KTVU reports.
Three men were charged with videotaping an Asian man who was attacked in a San Francisco laundromat.
The video starts harmless enough. A 67-year-old Asian man sits at the Fashion Laundrette in Mason and Washington in the Nob Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, not far from Chinatown.
“This man is sitting alone in the corner of a laundromat late at night, running his own business,” said former San Francisco prosecutor Nancy Tung.
But within a few moments a group of men come into the laundromat and attack the man unprovoked.
“Three people come in out of nowhere and start attacking him. They start beating him,” said Tung, who has prosecuted anti-Asian crimes.
In the video, the suspects are seen kicking the man in the chest and pulling him off his chair.
While the victim is on the ground and not resisting, the suspects go through his pockets and steal his phone, keys, $ 600 in cash, and credit cards.
“When I saw this video, my first reaction was, ‘Oh no, not again,'” Tung said. “What is really shocking is that there are people in this world who take advantage of a person’s vulnerability, perhaps also the lack of situational awareness.”
According to police, Jason Orozco at one point jumped the victim, identified only by his first name, Kwok.
Police said Orozco was involved in the attack by Calvin Bershell and Nolowde Beshears.
The attack occurred on February 23. The three men, all from Antioch, were arrested last week. Police confiscated two weapons during the raids.
The men have pleaded not guilty of robbery, kidnapping – for allegedly removing Kwok from his chair – elder abuse and identity theft. They were also charged with breaking into seven cars before allegedly attacking Kwok later that day.