In November 2019, two Coast Guard members were leaving the Arcata Theater Lounge when a man began punching one of the Coast Guard members while shouting, “that’s what you get for being a Mexican,” according to the Arcata Police Department.
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A woman “screaming nonsensically” shouted a disparaging comment toward a woman using a walker as she walked down a Eureka street in July 2020, according to Humboldt County District Attorney Maggie Fleming.
The walker was thrown in the street by the suspect who “then forced the victim against a fence and punched her,” Fleming said.
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In November 2020, two men who had been drinking at the Arcata Plaza got into an argument. After one of the men invited the other to sleep at his home, at some point the two men agreed to fight each other and were loud enough for a third person to hear an agreement to “take it outside.”
During the fight one of the men yelled anti-gay slurs and “I’m not down with that homo sh-t!,” a lieutenant with Arcata Police told the Times-Standard.
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The incidents account for the three Humboldt County cases reported by the California Attorney General’s Office in a report of 2020 California hate crimes. (The incident in Arcata in November 2019 is considered a 2020 case because that is when it was turned over to the local district attorney’s office.)
“For too many, 2020 wasn’t just about a deadly virus, it was about an epidemic of hate,” Attorney General Rob Bonta in a prepared statement announcing the statewide data on June 30. “All across the country we saw the news come in, and now with this latest data, we have another piece of the puzzle to help fill in the gaps.”
While there were three local incidents reported in 2020, it’s possible many more incidents occurred but did not involve law enforcement.
“I suspect that, in general, like a number of other crimes (e.g. domestic violence etc.), hate crimes may be underreported in communities but we don’t have any solid data about that at this time,” said Eureka Police Chief Steve Watson.
He noted there is confusion among the general public between “a hate-related incident and a reportable hate crime as defined under the law.”
Under California state law, a hate crime is “a criminal act committed, in whole or in part, because of the victim’s actual or perceived disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation.” A hate incident, in contrast, is considered actions or behaviors motivated by hate but protected by the First Amendment right to free speech.
“Both are completely unacceptable — there is no place for racism and hate in our community,” Watson said.
Arcata Police Lt. Todd Dokweiler, recognizing that Arcata accounted for two of the three 2020 local hate crimes, noted the department “has made the identification of hate crimes a priority.”
“Our officers and staff are keenly aware of and vigilant for crimes perpetrated in whole or in part based on the victim’s actual or perceived disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation,” he said.
The three Humboldt County hate crimes reported to the District Attorney’s office in 2020 match the number reported in 2019. But Bonta’s office reported that across the state, there were increases in some types of hate crimes.
“In the last 10 years, hate crime events have increased by 25.5% with 1,060 reported in 2011 and 1,330 reported in 2020,” the 2020 report states.
The report notes that anti-gay male bias is down nearly 6% in 2020, but it did account for one of the three hate crimes reported locally. State rates increased in hate crimes associated with ethnicity and religious affiliation.
Here’s a look at the Humboldt County cases:
Ethnicity hate crime
Around 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 10, 2019, two Coast Guard members left the Arcata Theatre Lounge. One of the members approached a group of people asking where to find food trucks to get a bite to eat, Dokweiler told the Times-Standard.
The suspect, identified as Jared Robert Carper, then began punching the victim, identified in court documents as Luis Sacacruz, leaving him with a fractured cheekbone.
Carper reportedly told Sacacruz, “that’s what you get for being a Mexican,” Fleming told the Times-Standard.
“It was the investigating officer’s conclusion the assault was in whole or in part because of the victim’s actual or perceived ethnicity,” Dokweiler said.
Carper is charged with one count of assault and a special allegation of it being a hate crime. He was scheduled for a July 6 preliminary hearing, but it was postponed until Aug. 2.
Disability hate crime
Around July 12, 2020, a woman identified in court documents as Rachel Mae Grusin was walking with the aid of a walker in Eureka. The suspect, identified as Jennifer Pearl Corwin, “approached the victim while screaming nonsensically,” Fleming said.
Corwin allegedly made a disparaging comment about Grusin’s perceived young age, threw the walker in the street, and proceeded to push Grusin against a fence and punched her.
“When interviewed by law enforcement, the suspect stated the victim was young and was ‘faking’ her disability and she threw the walker for that reason,” Fleming said in an email. “In fact, the victim was using the walker following back surgery.”
Corwin is charged with four counts, all misdemeanors, including a violation of civil rights, assault, battery, and public intoxication. Her trial is set to begin in November.
Sexual orientation hate crime
The final hate crime incident took place on Nov. 11, 2020. Two men were reportedly drinking on the Arcata Plaza. One man invited the other to spend the night at his trailer.
“Once there, the two argued about the suspect’s loudness which led to the two men agreeing to fight each other,” Fleming said.
A third person in the trailer heard the two agree to “take it outside.”
Dokweiler said the suspect, who he identified as Thomas James Holloway, “struck the victim several times while shouting” a variety of homophobic slurs.
“It was the investigating officer’s conclusion the assault was in whole or in part because of the victim’s actual or perceived sexual orientation,” Dokweiler said.
Fleming disagreed, and no charges were filed in the case.
“In following up on this case, our office could not reach the victim,” Fleming said. “We did not file charges based on the police report alone, because the fact the suspect and victim agreed to fight did not support an assault charge, and we did not have evidence that the fight was motivated by characteristics covered under hate crime statutes, given that it apparently started over the suspect’s loudness.”
Ruth Schneider can be reached at 707-441-0520.
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