SAN FRANCISCO – Two men have been charged with hate crimes in Santa Clara County for separate assaults – one against an Asian American woman walking her dog and one against a 93-year-old Persian American.
Richard Hanford, 62, of Los Gatos, told the Asian American woman: “This is America, (expletive deleted)” before striking her on a sidewalk in Los Gatos. David Greenburg, 56, of Redwood City, spit at the elderly San Jose Persian American man and told him: “Go back to your (expletive deleted) country.”
Both are charged with misdemeanor hate crime charges. Hanford – who will be arraigned on November 16 – faces an additional battery charge while Greenburg faces an additional assault charge when he is arraigned on December 6. They each face incarceration for these offenses, if convicted.
“Our community deeply values diversity, respects it, seeks it,” DA Jeff Rosen said. “Intolerance is not an American ideal. In these cases, it is a crime.”
October 5, at around 11:45 a.m., the 6-feet-2-inch, 200-pound Hanford told the 5-feet-tall, 105-pound Asian American woman walking her dog on a University Avenue sidewalk to move out of his way. When she told him he could move around her, he told her “This is America” and struck her, twice, in the face.
On August 25, around 2:25 p.m., Greenburg – a salesman – knocked on the South San Jose front door of an elderly Persian man who spoke limited English. Unable to understand what the defendant wanted, the victim said: “No English, my son will call you back.” The defendant kicked the bottom the screen door that the victim was standing behind and spat towards the victim. He told him, “Go back to your (expletive deleted) country.” Greenburg then spat again in the victim’s direction as he walked away.
The victim’s son heard this exchange and quickly walked to the front door to confront the defendant. Instead of a physical confrontation, the son decided to call the police.
