A Santa Monica man was sentenced Thursday to life plus seven years in state prison with the possibility of parole for the attempted murder of a stranger during an unprovoked hate crime attack aboard a Metro bus in March 2023, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced.
Gerald Pitts, 67, was convicted of stabbing Santos Tejas Gonzalez multiple times after shouting racial slurs at him and continuing the assault even after the victim fell from the bus.
"A hate crime is more than just a criminal act against one person, it tears at the fibers that hold our community together," District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said in a statement. "These crimes are meant to intimidate entire communities and weaken the trust that holds us together."
Hochman said Pitts attacked a complete stranger because of his race or perceived race, repeatedly stabbing him and continuing the assault even after the victim fell from the bus.
"We're grateful the victim survived and relieved that he is continuing to recover," Hochman said. "This kind of violence is exactly what hate crime laws are meant to address."
Hochman called on county residents to reject such behavior.
"I urge everyone in Los Angeles County to reject this behavior whenever they see it and to stand with one another across every community," he said. "Public safety depends not only on enforcing the law but on refusing to tolerate bias-driven violence in any form. This office will not tolerate hate incidents and crimes in our communities and will respond with the full force of the law."
A jury found Pitts, born April 9, 1959, guilty of attempted murder on June 16. Jurors also said the crime was committed willfully, deliberately and with premeditation, that Pitts personally used a knife, that he personally inflicted great bodily injury, and that the offense was committed in whole or in part because of the victim's actual or perceived nationality, race or ethnicity, making it a hate crime.
According to prosecutors, the attack occurred March 25, 2023, at approximately 9 p.m. when Gonzalez boarded a Metro bus and attempted to walk past Pitts to take a seat. Pitts immediately began shouting racial slurs at him, prosecutors said.
When Gonzalez tried to leave the bus at the next stop, at Western Avenue and Exposition Boulevard, to avoid further confrontation, Pitts stabbed him multiple times in the abdomen, arm, hand and face, prosecutors said. As the victim fell from the bus, Pitts kicked him repeatedly in the head while continuing to yell racial slurs, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Gonzalez survived the attack despite suffering life-threatening injuries, prosecutors said.
The DA's office has posted video of the attack online.
The District Attorney's Office said it has made combating hate crimes a priority through aggressive prosecution, community outreach and close collaboration with law enforcement agencies and community organizations. The office said it continues to encourage victims and witnesses to report hate crimes so perpetrators can be held accountable.
Hochman said he has also pushed back against policies that allow perpetrators of violent hate crimes to avoid standard incarceration, according to the District Attorney's Office. Earlier this year, the office successfully petitioned a California Court of Appeal to overturn a Los Angeles County trial court's decision granting mental health diversion to Job Uriah Taylor, who was charged with attempted murder including a hate crime allegation. The appellate court agreed the defendant's case should proceed through the traditional criminal justice process, which the office said reinforces that violent hate crimes demand accountability that protects the public.