Asian man, 75, dies of traumatic brain injuries after he was 'robbed and shoved to the ground' by convicted felon, 26, with a 'history of attacking elderly people'
A convicted felon with a history of attacking older Asian people has been charged with murder after a 75-year-old man he allegedly attacked died of a traumatic brain injury.
Prosecutors in Alameda County filed special circumstance murder charges against 26-year-old Teaunte Bailey on Thursday after Pak Ho died from injuries sustained in an attack two days earlier.
Police said Ho, an Oakland resident of Asian descent, was walking on the street just before 7am Tuesday when Bailey robbed and shoved him, causing him to hit his head on the pavement.
Bailey, whose extensive rap sheet dates back to 2012, was also charged with robbery and assault on Thursday in connection with a similar incident last month.
Prosecutors said on February 19 Bailey broke into an apartment at a senior living facility, where he shoved and robbed a 72-year-old Asian man of his cellphone and other items.
The attacks came as the Bay Area and cities around the US are experiencing a surge in violence against Asian people.
Prosecutors in Alameda County filed special circumstance murder charges against 26-year-old Teaunte Bailey (left) on Thursday after Pak Ho (right) died from injuries sustained in an attack two days earlier
Bailey was booked into the Alameda County jail on Wednesday after fleeing from police following his attack on Ho.
He is scheduled to appear at an arraignment on Friday, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong disclosed the suspect's alleged history of victimizing elderly Asian people in a statement about the murder charges.
'I'm at a loss for words,' Armstrong said. 'Our elders should be protected not the victim of a deadly assault. I am thankful that our officers were able to quickly respond and arrest Mr Bailey.'
At the time of his most recent arrest, Bailey was on probation after a June 2020 robbery outside the same senior living center that he allegedly robbed last month.
Police said Bailey was driving a stolen car when he stopped and ambushed two victims, Peiling Mai and Jianfeng Li, on June 26.
He allegedly knocked both of the victims to the ground, punched one in the face and ripped the other's purse away.
Bailey convicted of felony assault in that incident and sentenced to 64 days in jail.
Before that, Bailey was convicted of possession of stolen property after he and another female suspect robbed a person in San Francisco in April.
Alameda County records showed Bailey had at least two other burglary convictions, one from January 2013 and another from September 2012.
He also had multiple arrests for parole violations, including in December 2019 and February 2020.
Bailey's latest arrest came amid a rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans in recent years.
In 2020 alone, anti-Asian hate crimes rose by more than 150 percent in 16 of the largest US cities, according to California State University's Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism.
The spike has been attributed in part to former President Donald Trump's rhetoric blaming China for the coronavirus.
President Joe Biden forcefully denounced the trend in his first prime-time address on Thursday night, which focused heavily on the coronavirus pandemic.
'Too often we have turned against one another. A mask, the easiest thing to do to save live, sometimes it divides us. States pitted against one another instead of working with one another. Vicious hate crimes against Asian-Americans who have been attacked, harassed, blamed and scapegoated,' Biden said.
'At this very moment, so many of them, our fellow Americans are on the front lines of this pandemic trying to save lives and still, still they are forced to live in fear for their lives just walking down streets in America.
'It's wrong, it's un-American and it must stop.'
