CALIFORNIA: Two men accused of severely beating a Sikh-Indian American last September in Richmond and cutting off a fistful of his hair, have been sentenced to three years in state prison on charges of felony assault with a hate crime enhancement. Oil refinery workers from Texas, Chase Little and Colton Leblanc, pleaded no contest at a hearing in Contra Costa County.
Both accused, along with three other men from the Chevron Oil Refinery, were driving near the Hilltop Mall in Richmond, when one of them threw a beer can into the car of Maan Singh Khalsa. After which, he drove towards them and threw the beer back in their car at the next intersection, saying, “Looks like you forgot something.” Things got rough at the next intersection after that, when according to Khalsa, Little and Leblanc got out of the truck, reached into Khalsa's rolled-down window and began punching him. They knocked off his turban and cut-off a fistful of his religiously-mandated long hair. A 41 year old father and IT specialist in the Special Security Administration, Khalsa said, “I don't know what I did to deserve such unprovoked hatred.”
Contra Costa County Deputy District Attorney Simon O'Connell, in a statement released by the Sikh Coalition, said, “The attack upon Mr Khalsa based upon his perceived religion and identity is an attack upon us all. As a community we must do better and it is my hope that today's sentence moves us further in that direction.” He said that the moment the DA's office got the case, “It has always been looked at as a hate crime.”
“The actions of Mr Little and Mr Leblanc have greatly affected every facet of my life; they transformed my day-to-day experiences and my very outlook on the world. Before September 25, 2016, I was so carefree. I considered myself an American like everyone else,” Khalsa said. “Nearly eight months later, there are lasting impacts on my health- I have trouble with short-term memory, I have lost a body part (my pinky), I struggle with PTSD, anxiety and depression, and it is difficult for me to sleep at night.”
Pawanpreet Kaur Dhaliwal, staff attorney for the Sikh Coalition said, “A bias-based attack like this one does not happen in a vacuum. The underlying causes of hate violence are complex, and there is still a tremendous amount of work to be done to make our communities safe for all.”
