Hate crime charges filed against Michael Vivona in attack on elderly Korean couple
SANTA ANA, California (KCAL, KCBS) A 26-year-old man was charged with multiple hate crimes after punching an elderly Asian couple as they took a walk and a verbal attack on Japanese American Olympic karate athlete, Sakura Kokumai, all at the same park in Orange.
Michael Orlando Vivona, of Orange, was charged with two felony counts each of elder abuse and battery – hate crime causing injury, and two felony hate crime enhancements. Vivona remains in custody on $65,000 bail.
“If you engage in hate-motivated crimes, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement. “My prosecutors have and will continue to aggressively prosecute haters who target Asians as well as anyone who is the victim of a hate crime whether it is as a result of race, religion, sexual orientation or any other protected class.”
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ORANGE, Calif.
A plan by Southern California police to release body-worn camera video from officers who responded to a deadly office shooting was quashed by prosecutors.
Police in the city of Orange called a news conference Wednesday to release footage related to the March shooting that killed four people, including a 9-year-old boy. An hour later, police spokeswoman Lt. Jennifer Amat reversed course, saying the district attorney was concerned it could jeopardize the case against the suspected shooter. Amat declined to answer questions about the decision.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer sent a letter earlier in the day asking police not to release the nine-minute video they had prepared, which included portions of 911 calls and footage in which gunshots are heard.
Police, prosecutors spar over shooting footage release go.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from go.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
“A 74-year-old man was left for dead in the middle of the street, tossed aside as if he never mattered, because of the selfish decision of a stranger to get behind the wheel while intoxicated,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement.
“His life may not have mattered to the driver who left him for dead, but it matters to me and it matters to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. And we will fight for justice for him and everyone who loved him.”
After this incident, officials say they arrested him in a bar drinking.