A man who repeatedly stabbed a Black man at a Carlsbad shelter was sentenced Thursday to nine years in state prison.
Jeremy Willis, 53, pleaded guilty to attempted murder and a hate crime allegation, admitting to stabbing the victim multiple times while both men were staying last December at La Posada de Guadalupe, which provides housing for homeless men and employed farm workers in North County.
Willis, who is white, directed a racial epithet at the victim and made other derogatory racial comments while stabbing him, according to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office.
A co-defendant, Scott Williams, tried to prevent an observer from alerting shelter staff, prosecutors said. Williams pleaded guilty to dissuading a witness and last week received a 16-month sentence.
San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephen said the victim was attacked “just because he was Black. Unfortunately, hate crimes targeting Black people remain the highest category of hate crimes in our county and state … Hate against one group is a threat to everyone and we won’t tolerate these crimes in our community.”
– City News Service