Post-Attack Incident to Draw Hate Charge

A Fullerton man who allegedly chased and threatened a man and woman he thought were Afghans will be charged with a hate crime that prosecutors will argue was motivated by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Jason Fulkerson, 31, will face two felony counts when he is arraigned Nov. 2.

Police said Fulkerson chased Gurcharan Singh and his wife, Banso, and threatened them with a baseball bat.

The Buena Park couple were selling ice cream from their truck in Fulkerson’s neighborhood on Sept. 14.

Fulkerson was accused of brandishing a deadly weapon, normally a misdemeanor.

But because it was allegedly triggered by the attacks on New York City and the Pentagon, the charge will be elevated to a felony.

That would add up to three years to the sentence if Fulkerson is convicted, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Mike Fell, who prosecutes hate crimes for the district attorney’s office.

Fulkerson will also be charged with interfering with the Singhs’ constitutional rights.

The Singhs say they are Sikhs, not Muslims.

In a separate incident, a Huntington Beach man faces possible hate-crime charges after he allegedly made death threats against an elderly Iranian couple out for a morning stroll in their neighborhood on Sept. 23.

Motorist Steven James McManus, 43, saw the 77-year-old man and 74-year-old woman walking about 9 a.m. near their home, made an abrupt U-turn and asked them where they are from.

When they replied, he allegedly yelled at them to cross the street or he would kill them.

A neighbor who witnessed the incident drove the Iranian couple to their son’s home nearby.

Fell said his office is still investigating the incident to determine whether hate-crime charges will be filed.