Man with swastika tattoo charged with hate crime after punching man and yelling racial slur

A 41-year-old man with a swastika tattoo was charged with a hate crime Thursday after he allegedly beat a man in a Fullerton parking lot while yelling a racial slur at him, officials said.

Tyson Theodore Mayfield became agitated when the other man — who is Filipino and Turkish — didn’t have a lighter he could borrow, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office.

Mayfield, who lives in Fullerton, is accused of then punching the man multiple times and calling out the slur, officials said.

A witness called police to report the attack. Officials did not identify the victim.

Mayfield, who has a swastika tattooed on his right shoulder, was charged with one felony count of assault in a hate crime causing injury, the district attorney’s office said.

Prosecutors said Mayfield has a previous conviction for mayhem.

If convicted, Mayfield faces a maximum of six years in state prison. He is due in court next week.

alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Twitter: @AleneTchek