Woman charged with hate crime after attack at Starbucks

MOUNTAIN VIEW >> A woman was charged with a hate crime after authorities said she allegedly attacked a customer and directed racial epithets at a manager at a Mountain View coffee shop.

The 33-year-old woman was charged with a misdemeanor hate crime and faces jail time if convicted, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office. Her arraignment was scheduled for Thursday afternoon at the Palo Alto Courthouse.

According to a news release from prosecutors, the woman went into a Starbucks on San Antonio Road and started yelling at the manager of the coffee shop, telling him he “should go back to your country” and she would have him “deported back to Mexico.”

The suspect told a 32-year-old woman she had heard speak in an accent to go back to her country, according to the district attorney. The suspect started recording the woman on her phone, telling her she would send it to the Army and Border Patrol. When the woman tried to stop the recording, the suspect allegedly attacked the woman, hitting her seven to 10 times with both hands and leaving scratches on the woman's neck, wrist and side of her face.

Other customers at the coffee shop pulled the suspect away from the woman, authorities said. She then turned her attention to a family, told them “You don't belong here,” and advanced toward the female child in the family. The girl's father stepped in and put himself between his daughter and the suspect.

“Hate crimes are sad and senseless,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. “We stand in solidarity with our community against all hatred and will prosecute anyone who crosses the criminal line.”