A federal judge on Monday sentenced a former Riverside resident to 35 years in prison for shooting and wounding two Jewish men as they left synagogues in Pico-Robertson last year.
U.S. District Judge George Wu cited Jaime Tran’s mental health issues as his reason for not imposing the 40 years sought by prosecutors. The shooting by Tran, who had a history of making antisemitic remarks, left L.A’s Jewish community on edge in early 2023.
One of the survivors, who still feared for his safety and was identified in court Monday only as “Mr. H,” said he could have easily been killed if the bullet Tran fired hit “less than an inch” in another direction.
“I believe that without being a victim of a crime like this yourself it’s difficult to really understand when you’ve been traumatized, when you’ve been shot, when someone makes an attempt at your life,” he said. “I think 40 years is very lenient for an attempt on two people’s lives.”
Assistant U.S. Atty. Kathrynne Seiden said both of the victims were left “feeling sad, scared, traumatized, disillusioned.” Tran’s second victim did not address the court.
Seiden said one of the victims was afraid of being targeted again.
“He doesn’t feel represented in this country,” she said. “He feels like he lives in a country where wrongdoers are not punished and the community is really looking to the court here and the justice system to condemn this kind of intolerance.”
Tran, 30, pleaded guilty in June to two counts of hate crimes with intent to kill and two counts of using, carrying and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
Tran, whose shoulder length hair fell in a curtain over his face, did not react during the hearing.
His attorney, Katherine T. Corrigan, said he did well in high school and college before his mental health issues kicked in.
Corrigan said there’s “no doubt” that the antisemitism is very serious, but added that “it appears that that has not continued.”
In an emailed statement after the hearing, Corrigan praised Wu for the sentence which she said is “significant but incorporates mental health treatment.”
“This case is a stark reminder of the tragic impact that mental illness can have on the life of the ill person, and the terrible consequences it can cause to the victims of mental health driven conduct,” Corrigan said.
Tran’s plea agreement detailed a history of antisemitism that escalated in the years prior to the shooting.
Tran left dental school in 2018, after making hateful statements about other students whom he perceived to be Jewish, according to the agreement.
His antisemitic statements between August 2022 and December 2022 increasingly included violent language, according to the agreement. Over that period, prosecutors said, Tran texted a former classmate that someone was going to kill them, that they should kill themselves and to “Burn in an oven chamber you b— Jew.”
Tran also admitted to emailing around two dozen of his former classmates a flier containing antisemitic propaganda, including the statement: “Every single aspect of the COVID agenda is Jewish.”
Because of previous mental health episodes, Tran was prohibited from buying guns. He admitted to paying a third party roughly $1,500 to buy him a .380 pistol and an AK-47-style semiautomatic rifle.
In the year before the shootings, Tran had been charged with carrying a loaded firearm.
The plea agreement also detailed Tran researching locations with a “kosher market,” planning to shoot someone in that area. On Feb. 15, 2023, he drove to the Pico-Robertson neighborhood, where he spotted a Jewish man wearing a yarmulke — the Mr. H who spoke at Monday’s hearing.
Tran admitted that as the man opened the door to his own car after leaving religious services, he shot him at close range in the back.
The next morning, Tran returned to the same area and saw another victim, who prosecutors identified by the initials G.T. The man was leaving religious services and also wearing a yarmulke. Tran admitted that he shot G.T. as he was crossing the street, intending to kill him.
Both men survived the attacks. Law enforcement arrested Tran on Feb. 17 and he’s been in custody since.
“Targeting people for death based solely on their religious and ethnic background brings back memories of the darkest chapters in human history,” U.S. Atty. Martin Estrada for the Central District of California said in a statement. “Such hate-fueled violence has no place in America.
In a press conference after the hearing, Jewish leaders referenced the fact that Rosh Hashanah begins Wednesday and the Oct. 7 anniversary is nearing.
“We hope the message goes forth that this is a city of love and of diversity and there is no room for hate,” said Dr. Irving Lebovics, Chairman of Agudath Israel of California.
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