Suspect Charged With Hate Crimes in Attacks on Women

A 28-year-old ex-convict was arraigned Wednesday on charges of felony hate crimes against women for allegedly attacking five women, including the daughter of San Diego Police Chief David Bejarano.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Hector Jimenez, head of the district attorney’s hate crimes unit, said that Billy Dean McCall has a pattern of pushing and shoving women and slamming them to the ground without provocation. In none of the cases did McCall know the women before the attacks, the prosecutor said.

In an incident caught on a department store surveillance camera, a muscular man in a T-shirt approached 18-year-old Yvonne Bejarano and violently shoved her from behind into a shoe display. When the startled teenager turned around, the man approached her menacingly before leaving.

Minutes after the incident, a store security guard stopped a suspect outside the store but fled when the man made a movement indicating that he had a gun. McCall has served a prison term for weapons violations.

“The hate crimes law includes crimes based on gender. It’s designed to deal with guys like this,” Jimenez said. “People were shocked at the video [showing the assault on Yvonne Bejarano] and how egregious, random, and violent it was.”

Although the gender provision in the state hate crime law is rarely invoked, Jimenez said it is appropriate in this case because it underscores the seriousness of the crimes and allows for significantly greater punishment.

Jimenez told a Superior Court judge that McCall selected his victims because they were female and that he poses a serious threat to the community. The attacks allegedly occurred in stores, at the beach and at a Gas Lamp Quarter nightspot.

McCall pleaded not guilty. Bail was set at $150,000.

The use of the hate crime statute allowed four of the five charges to be elevated from misdemeanor assaults to felonies. The fifth, in which a woman was knocked unconscious and had her head bloodied, was already a felony, Jimenez said.

When the department store video was shown repeatedly on television, informants provided evidence linking McCall to the crimes, Jimenez said. By that time, McCall was under arrest on suspicion of assaulting his 18-year-old brother.

Jimenez said more alleged victims are coming forth and additional charges may be filed. If convicted on all five charges, McCall could face a maximum of 10 years and 8 months in prison.