FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, February 17, 2022
Brooklyn Man Arraigned on Indictment Charging Him With
Hate Crime for Allegedly Assaulting Asian Senior Citizen
Defendant Allegedly Punched Victim in Unprovoked Attack
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a Brooklyn man has been indicted for hate crimes after allegedly assaulting an Asian woman in an unprovoked attack, and allegedly telling police that Chinese people are not supposed to be in this country.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “This cowardly attack against a vulnerable member of our community will not be tolerated in Brooklyn. We will continue to work with our partners in communities across the borough to take a strong stand against hate crimes and pledge to bring to justice those who attack individuals based on their race, ethnicity, religion, gender or sexual orientation.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Mercel Jackson, 52, of Crown Heights, Brooklyn. He was arraigned today on an indictment in which he is charged with second-degree assault, second-degree attempted assault, third-degree assault as a hate crime, third-degree assault, third-degree attempted assault as a hate crime, third-degree attempted assault, third-degree menacing as a hate crime, third-degree menacing, second-degree aggravated harassment and second-degree harassment. He is being held on $2,000 bail and was ordered to return to court on April 5, 2022.
The District Attorney said that on January 19, 2022, at approximately 9:18 a.m., on Classon Avenue near Greene Street, the victim, a 67-year-old Asian woman, was walking to the store when she heard yelling and saw the defendant walking towards her. The defendant then allegedly approached the woman and punched her about the face three times, causing bruising and swelling. Police responded and arrested the defendant after canvassing the area. He allegedly told police that Chinese people are not supposed to be in this country and that Chinese people are “a funny looking character” and “they look like the measles.”
If you believe you have been a victim of a hate crime, please call the District Attorney’s Hate Crime Hotline at 718-250-4949.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Prabhalya Pulim, of the District Attorney’s Hate Crimes Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Ari Farkas, Deputy Chief of the Hate Crimes Bureau, and the overall supervision of Assistant District Attorney Kelli M. Muse, Chief of the Hate Crimes Bureau.
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An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.