Hate Crime In Orange County

A man in Orange County was charged with two felony counts of a hate crime battery causing injury this week after he attacked two Latino men who were with their families outside a 7-11 in Costa Mesa, California. Chat Martin Jurjaks, 30, was charged with the two counts and faces up to 7 years and 4 months in state prison. The Orange County Register reports:

At about 10:30 p.m. on March 15, a 42-year-old man, his wife, cousin, and a 26-year-old nephew, were walking to a 7-Eleven in Costa Mesa, a district attorney’s news release said.

Jurjaks, who is not Hispanic, is accused of being intoxicated and confronting the victims as they approached. Jurjaks attacked the victims without provocation and yelled expletives as he punched the men one time each in the head, before walking away, prosecutors said.

It’s important to keep track of these types of incidents because they serve as a gauge for what the real undercurrent of hostility towards Latinos is in the country, as opposed to politicos simply courting us for our votes.

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD