The man who is accused of shooting two Jewish men in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood in Feb. 2023 will be entering a guilty plea, prosecutors announced on May 14.
According to a statement from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, the alleged shooter, 29-year-old Jaime Tran, agreed to plead guilty to charges of hate crimes with intent to kill and using a gun as part of a violent crime. Under the agreement, Tran faces 35-to-40 years in prison.
The guilty plea states that, prior to the shooting, Tran promulgated “antisemitic beliefs” and “made violent threats towards Jewish people.” He then “planned to shoot someone near a kosher market because he believed there would be Jewish people in the area,” per the guilty plea, and shot two Jewish men, one on Feb. 15 and the other on Feb. 16. The two victims survived their injuries.
“This defendant sought to murder two men simply because they were Jewish,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement. “Rather than allow these horrific crimes to divide us, however, our community came together and swiftly brought the perpetrator to justice. Hate and intolerance have no place in America. We will remain firm in our approach of using all the tools at our disposal to aggressively prosecute acts of hate.”
Los Angeles Police Chief Dominic Choi also said in a statement, “I’m thankful for the hard work our investigators and prosecutors have put into this case. Hate crimes tear at the fabric of our communities and safety. The Los Angeles Police Department is stronger through our federal partnerships, better serving the people of Los Angeles.”
The Jewish Federation for Greater Los Angeles said in a statement, “We are pleased that justice will be served in the horrific antisemitic hate crime committed against two local Jewish community members — a violent act which shook our community. At a time when antisemitism has skyrocketed across the country and in Los Angeles, this news sends a strong message that our city will have zero tolerance for violent acts of antisemitism. We are grateful to the U.S. Attorney’s office, FBI, and LAPD for their diligence in investigating and prosecuting this case, and for their continued work and commitment to protect our community and partner with us to combat hate.”
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