A man in Southern California who is accused of punching an elderly Asian couple is charged with hate crimes, the Orange County District Attorney said Wednesday.
After an attack on a Korean couple Sunday in a park, Michael Orlando Vivona, 26, of Orange, according to Orange police, was surrounded by people until officers showed up and arrested him.
Vivona has been charged with two counts of abuse of the elderly and two counts of battery crimes – hate injuries, and he has also faced two charges for hate crimes, District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement.
He is also being investigated in connection with a verbal attack on the American Olympic karate athlete Sakura Kokumai in the same park on April 1, according to the statement.
The next day, Kokumai showed a video showing a man threatening her and telling her to ‘go home’ and use the words ‘Chinese’ and ‘disgusting’. Kokumai, who is a Japanese American, was born in Honolulu.
The attacks come amid an increase in the number of anti-Asian hate crimes in some parts of the country. In New York City, police set up a task force in August.
The people attacked Grijalva Park, 78 and 79 years old, on Sunday night. They were on a walk around 7.40pm when Vivona allegedly ran towards them, punched the man in the face and then punched the woman.
“After his arrest,” Vivona later made statements to police disrespecting Asians, “Spitzer’s office said.
According to online court records, Vivona pleaded not guilty to all the charges. According to the district attorney’s office, he is being held on $ 65,000 bail.
Records show a public defender represents Vivona, but contact details after the hour could not be found immediately Wednesday night. A number for Vivona’s home could not be found immediately.
Kokumai told NBC News this month that she went jogging on April 1 when the incident occurred.
“When he walked closer, I got a little scared because you just know what can happen,” she said.
She described being in ‘fight-or-flight mode’ during the meeting and used the incident to remind Asian Americans and the Pacific Islander community that they are not alone and to encourage people to get on to step in and look out for each other.
