Hate susp: 2 Asians hit me before

A homeless man accused of beating a Chinese immigrant within an inch of his life said he did it because two men of Asian descent had attacked him a day prior, according to an indictment filed Tuesday.

Jarrod Powell, 50, pleaded not guilty to attempted-murder and hate crime charges at his arraignment in Manhattan Supreme Court.

Powell (photo) faces up to 25 years in prison for the April 23 assault on 61-year-old Yao Pan Ma, who was savagely attacked as he pushed a shopping cart full of recyclables on E. 125th St. and Third Ave.

Three days after the assault, police arrested Powell at a men’s homeless shelter on Wards Island, where he had lived for 10 months.

Ma, who lost his Chinatown restaurant job during the pandemic, was left fighting for his life in a medically induced coma at Harlem Hospital in the weeks after the assault.

As of last month, Ma was still in a coma.

A representative for his family did not immediately respond to a Daily News request for comment on Tuesday.

Under questioning by detectives, Powell said he attacked Ma because he had been robbed of his jewelry and money by “a Korean guy” and a Japanese man on Amsterdam Ave. the day before, the indictment says.

Powell claimed that Ma was his assailant, and that he bumped into him the next day by chance.

He told cops that Ma ran up to him “with a cart” and taunted, “I got you.”

Powell said he was angry when he attacked Ma. He said that as Ma fell to the ground, he thought to himself, “I am not going to let you up.”

So, Powell said, he kicked Ma in the head as he lay motionless on the ground.

The detective who paraphrased Powell’s half-confession noted Powell “hesitates to admit that he buys loosies” and “denies having problems with Asians,” court records show.

Judge Michele Rodney continued Powell’s $100,000 bail on Thursday.