Latest news with #MarcusHarper
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Yahoo
Man charged with hate crime after incident at Fremont restaurant
FREMONT, Calif. - A man is facing hate crime and battery charges in Fremont after he was accused of assaulting an Indian woman and her children at a fast food restaurant earlier this month. Marcus Harper of Union City was charged with a hate crime and misdemeanor battery after he was accused of assaulting a woman and her children while they were eating at a restaurant on April 5, the Alameda County District Attorney's Office said. The backstory Fremont Police said the incident occurred around 2:15 p.m. at a fast food restaurant in the 38000 block of Fremont Boulevard. Harper is accused of approaching an Indian woman with her two children, taking their food from them, and eating it in front of them. Harper then walked away from the family before returning and slapping the woman's face from behind and making a "disparaging comment" about the family, police said. The 22-year-old yelled at the victims, threw a packet of dipping sauce at one of the children, then left, police said. Fremont Police investigated the case as a hate crime and obtained a warrant for his arrest. On Tuesday, officers found Harper alone in his car on Marshlands Road near Thornton Avenue and took him into custody. What they're saying "This act of hate based upon the perceived national origin of these victims is completely unacceptable," Alameda County DA Jones Dickson said. "The message needs to be clear that such behavior will not be tolerated, and those who commit hate crimes will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law." Harper faces a battery charge, along with a civil rights violation and a special allegation of a hate crime. Jail records show Harper remains in custody at the Santa Rita Jail, and an arraignment is scheduled for Thursday. What we don't know Police did not share the name of the fast food restaurant where the incident occurred. It's also unclear the age of the children. Police said the victims did not suffer any physical injuries. The Source Alameda County District Attorney's Office, Fremont Police
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Yahoo
‘Go back to your country.' Man charged in Fremont McDonald's hate crime incident
(KRON) — Prosecutors filed hate crime charges against a man who allegedly slapped a mother inside a Fremont McDonald's restaurant, threw sauce on her daughter, stole their French fries, and told the victims, 'you Indians need to go back to your country.' Marcus Harper, 22, of Union City, is accused of targeting an Asian Indian woman and her 9-year-old daughter while the victims were sitting in a booth eating at the fast-food restaurant. Fremont Police Department officers described the assault at McDonald's on Fremont Boulevard as completely unprovoked. Alameda County District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson said, 'This act of hate based upon the perceived national origin of these victims is completely unacceptable. Such behavior will not be tolerated, and those who commit hate crimes will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.' The incident happened on the afternoon of April 5. The girl was eating with her mother and father when Harper approached the family, grabbed a handful of French fries from their food tray, and ate the fries, a Fremont police officer wrote in court documents. Harper walked away. Seconds later, he returned, made racist comments, and slapped the 36-year-old mother across her face while he was standing behind her, police said. 'Harper then threw an open packet of sauce at (the girl), staining her sweater. It is believed based on Harper's unprovoked attack and statement, 'You Indians need to go back to your own country,' that this attack was motivated by hate based on the perceived characteristics of the victims' race or ethnicity,' the FPD officer wrote. The girl's father called 911 and Harper left the McDonald's. When officers arrived, they found surveillance videos showing what happened inside the restaurant, as well as Harper's 2003 Honda Accord outside. Police identified Harper as a suspect after viewing his 2024 mugshot and connecting him to the Honda. On Tuesday, a police officer found Harper driving the Honda in Newark and arrested him. During a police interrogation, Harper told officers that the father gave him a 'weird feeling' while they were inside McDonald's. Palo Alto woman accused of spitting, yelling racial slurs at man 'Harper did not deny his actions after being shown still images taken from surveillance footage, but said he 'blacked out.' He said he believed the (woman's) husband wanted him to slap her,' an FPD officer wrote. Alameda County prosecutors filed hate crime and battery charges against the suspect. If convicted, Harper could face up to a year in jail. He is scheduled to be arraigned at the East County Hall of Justice in Dublin Thursday. Santa Rita Jail inmate records show Harper currently remains in custody in lieu of $110,000 bail. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
