3 suspects arrested after 2 Jewish men attacked at San Jose’s Santana Row: DA
Three men face battery charges for beating two Jewish men on Santana Row, according to court documents released Monday by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.
The now-viral incident took place outside Augustine’s restaurant earlier this month.
“It’s very shocking to see three people beat someone. Knock him to the ground and then continue to beat him and punch him,” said Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen.
ABC7 Eyewitness News is not naming the suspects until they are charged in court.
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Victims say they spoke Hebrew to each other before being attacked – and that the attackers used anti-Semitic language.
Rosen’s office is not currently pursuing any hate crime charges.
He says that at least for now, the evidence does not exist for this offense.
Rosen says hate crime charges could be added later if more evidence emerges.
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Legal experts say hate crime charges are often extremely difficult to prove in court.
“It’s an additional level of investigation, an additional level of prosecution, an additional level of persuasion to the court that not only did the crime occur, but it occurred because of the characteristics of the individual,” said John Trasvina, former dean of the University of San Francisco Law School.
Jewish groups say the incident has created more anxiety among members of their community.
Some, like the American Jewish Committee, applauded local leaders for condemning the attack immediately after it occurred.
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“Speak up when this happens and express your support to the community before something happens. It will take a whole-of-society approach to stop in its tracks what almost feels like a runaway train at this point,” said Teresa Drenick of the AJC.
Rosen says his office is working closely with the San Jose Police Department and the case remains open. But he promises that suspects will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.
“We worked very diligently over the last several days to make sure we found as much information about what happened and why it happened, and then we quickly filed criminal charges against these suspects,” Rosen said.
The suspects are expected to be arraigned on May 12.
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