Prosecutors say they will pursue hate crime charges against two suspects accused in the robberies of Asian women in Sacramento, California.
The Sacramento Bee reports police now believe the suspects arrested in June targeted Asian women leaving shopping centers.
Authorities say Latravion Mccockran, 20, of Sacramento and a 17-year-old juvenile suspect stole jewelry, cash and other personal property worth thousands in April and May, the Chronicle reported.
“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 to CBS Sacramento.
The string of robberies happened in the area along South Stockton Boulevard in South Sacramento. The thieves also physically assaulted their victims, adding to the anxiety of women in the area.
“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.
Stephanie Nguyen, the Executive Director for Asian Resources, says enough is enough.
“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.
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