Man Pleads Not Guilty to Hate Crime and Firearms Charges in Los Angeles Jewish Shooting Case
A man accused of shooting two Jewish men in Los Angeles in February pleaded not guilty on Thursday to four federal charges, according to the US Attorney’s Office.
Last Monday, a federal grand jury indicted Jaime Tran, 28, on two hate crime counts accusing him of knowingly causing bodily damage and attempting to murder, as well as two counts of discharging a firearm in connection with a violent crime.
CNN has requested a statement from Tran’s attorney. His trial is scheduled for April 11, according to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
Tran is accused of targeting and shooting two Jewish men as they left religious services at two different Los Angeles synagogues in the same primarily Jewish neighborhood on February 15 and 16. Both guys were sent to hospitals following the gunshots.
According to a news release from federal prosecutors, Tran’s antisemitic rants “escalated and (he) used increasingly violent language” between August 2022 and December 2022. He routinely contacted and texted a former classmate with abusive messages, one of which said, “Someone is going to kill you, Jew,” according to authorities. It is unknown if Tran had previously been charged with the purported messages.
According to court documents, if Tran is convicted, prosecutors will seek forfeiture of his weaponry, which include a Kahr Arms handgun and an AK-style Zastava rifle, as part of his punishment.
According to prosecutors, if Tran is convicted, he will face a statutory maximum term of life in federal prison for each hate crime conviction. A firearms conviction carries a required minimum penalty of ten years and a potential term of life in prison.
Tran was brought into federal custody after being caught by police on February 17 in Riverside County, roughly an hour east of Los Angeles, where he formerly lived, according to authorities. The Los Angeles Police Department reported that detectives discovered many pieces of evidence, including weapons.
In the indictment, prosecutors did not identify the two victims. US Attorney Martin Estrada previously stated that both were clothed in ways that recognized their Jewish beliefs at the time of the shootings, such as black coats and head coverings.
The shootings occurred at a time when antisemitic violence was on the upswing nationwide. According to the Anti-Defamation League, antisemitic incidents in the United States reached a record high in 2021, up 34% from 2020.