An ex-convict with a history of "victimizing elderly Asian people" has been charged with murder in the brutal death of a 75-year-old man who was shoved to the ground during a strong-arm robbery in California, authorities said Thursday.
The Asian American victim, identified as Pak Ho, was on his regular morning walk in Oakland's Adams Points neighborhood Tuesday when the accused killer approached him and announced the robbery, according to police and prosecutors. An altercation ensued and the victim was pushed to the ground, causing him to hit his head against the pavement, authorities said.
Ho, who suffered a traumatic head injury and brain damage, was taken to a hospital for treatment but did not survive the attack, the Alameda County District Attorney's office said in a news release. He succumbed to his injuries on Thursday.
"I'm at a loss for words," Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong said in a statement. "Our elders should be protected not the victim of a deadly assault."
© Provided by New York Daily NewsTeaunte Bailey, a 26-year-old career criminal.
Teaunte Bailey, a 26-year-old career criminal.
The suspect fled the scene but was arrested a short time after the incident. He was identified as Teaunte Bailey, a 26-year-old career criminal with multiple convictions for assault, burglary and other crimes, according to officials.
Bailey, who was on probation for another strong-arm robbery, is also accused of assaulting and robbing a 72-year-old man just weeks ago. Prosecutors said he broke into a senior-living apartment on Feb. 19, violently shoved the victim and stole numerous items from the home, including the man's cell phone.
The suspect is being held at the Santa Rita Jail on a slew of felony charges that include murder, first-degree robbery, assault with deadly force, resisting arrest and evading an officer. He also faces several charges with "special circumstances," which involve crimes against the elderly.
Police have not determined if the latest incident was a hate crime, but the investigation is ongoing.
The killing comes at a time of growing anti-Asian violence across the country, a sickening trend that critics have blamed on racism and ignorance about the coronavirus pandemic.
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"We are fighting a global pandemic but we are also fighting racism," Jo-Ann Yoo, of the Asian American Federation, said at a recent rally against anti-Asian violence in New York.
"We are getting spat on, shoved, punched, slashed, stabbed," Yoo said. "Right now Asian Americans are scared, we are outraged, and we are devastated."
Ho's three daughters are heartbroken by the tragic loss of their father, said Carl Chan, president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce.
"The daughters didn't expect this to happen to their father, and absolutely not expecting anything could happen early in the morning," he told local news station KPIX.