Two men have been charged with hate crimes for separate assaults in Santa Clara County – one against an Asian American woman and the other against an elderly Persian American man.
The assaults happened in August and October, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office said.
The first occurred on Aug. 25 when investigators said David Greenburg, identified as a 56-year-old salesman from Redwood City, knocked on the victim's door in South San Jose. When the victim, a 93-year-old Persian American man who "spoke limited English" couldn't understand him, authorities said Greenburg kicked in the man's bottom screen door and spat at him. He then said: "Go back to your (expletive) country."
According to police, he then spat at the elderly man again and left.
The victim’s son heard the confrontation take place and called the police.
In the second incident, officials said 62-year-old Richard Hanford of Los Gatos told a 105-pound Asian American woman walking her dog along University Ave. to "move out of his way." When she said he could move around her, he allegedly said "This is America" and struck her face twice.
"Our community deeply values diversity, respects it, seeks it," Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a news release. "Intolerance is not an American ideal. In these cases, it is a crime."
Both Greenburg and Hanford are facing misdemeanor hate crime charges – among other offenses – and could face jail time if convicted.
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