Asian-American sues South Coast Plaza security provider for alleged slur by guard

A Costa Mesa man is suing South Coast Plaza’s security provider for discrimination, after a security guard allegedly used a racial slur against him during one of two encounters while he was using the center’s EV charging stations.

Plaintiff John Le claims in a legal complaint filed last April with the Orange County Superior Court, and amended on Oct. 29, that, as a longtime customer of the Costa Mesa retail complex, he regularly used the center’s EV charging stations while shopping.

The site offers 22 such stations in two locations, according to the center’s website. It allows customers up to two free hours, with additional hours costing $2.50, according to the online platform ChargeHub.

Le said he was charging his 2023 Chevy Bolt in a South Coast Plaza parking structure on Sept. 26, 2024, and sitting at a table monitoring it via a cellphone app when he was approached by a guard identified in court filings as Zeus Carrillo, an employee of South Coast Security, Inc.

“The first time he came over, I thought it was a casual thing,” Le recalled Monday. “He said, ‘Where are you from? What are you doing here?’ [When] I told him I’m charging my car, he said, ‘You have to leave when you’re done.’”

The 60-year-old Costa Mesa resident thought perhaps the center was closing early and didn’t think too much about the encounter, so left well before the 2-hour complimentary charging time was up.

Four days later, Le returned to charge his vehicle at the South Coast Plaza station while shopping, according to the amended complaint. He was again sitting at tables near the center’s Carousel Court when, after about 15 minutes, Carrillo approached him with the same line of questioning as before.

Le replied in the same manner, but the security guard allegedly returned some minutes later and told him the 2-hour time limit was up and he must leave, that he was just doing his job, despite the fact Le’s app showed he had more time left and that customers may continue to charge after two hours for a cost.

When the Costa Mesa man attempted to explain this, he said Carrillo threatened to issue a citation if he did not leave. After he defended his right to remain there, the security guard reportedly got upset and allegedly yelled, “Ch—, you must leave now,” the suit reads, spelling out an epithet sometimes hurled at Asians.

The racial slur stunned Le, an Asian-American who’s lived in Costa Mesa since 1977 and still recalls hearing the racially charged moniker being hurled at him when he was younger.

“When I was a kid going to school, kids would yell that at me — they would yell at you with that term and tell you, go home, you don’t belong here,’” he said. “That’s like calling a Black person the N-word.”

Hearing the epithet, Le began recording Carrillo on his cellphone. He penned a letter to South Coast Plaza management on Oct. 5, 2024, asking whether Carrillo had been permitted to kick him off the premises according to any company policy, but never received a reply.

He later sent a former Costa Mesa High School classmate and friend, who is white and who undertook the same actions as Le and sat at the same table for more than two hours but was never confronted.

A representative of South Coast Plaza declined to speak on the incidents citing a policy doesn’t allow comments “on legal matters.” An attorney representing South Coast Plaza Security, Inc., which provides in-house security for the complex, did not respond to requests for comment.

Le claims his civil rights were violated when he was denied full and equal treatment and enjoyment of the business’ services and accommodations. He still wonders what kind of policy would have condoned running off one person from the area while allowing others to stay.

“If there is a policy, put up a sign and enforce it equally on everybody,” he said. “If it’s not a policy, they need to correct it and talk to [Carrillo].”

In the original complaint filed in April, Le’s attorney supplied pages of negative Yelp reviews citing similar harassment and unequal treatment of minorities, including by security personnel, but whether those may be admissible have not yet been determined, court records indicate.

The suit seeks $5 million in punitive damages, to deter continuation of the alleged mistreatment, as well as Le’s attorney’s costs and statutory damages under California law.

Responses to the complaint from South Coast Plaza Security, Inc. attorney Mhare Mouradian, both in a May 16 letter to Le’s attorney and in legal filings, contend the incidents described did not indicate any intentionally discriminatory policy.

Mouradian further states Carrillo’s actions did not rise to the level of threats, intimidation or coercion required for proving violation of California’s civil rights laws. He calls Le’s claims for damages excessive.

“...The complaint fails to plead the specific and ultimate facts necessary to justify such an award,” Mouradian wrote in the letter. “Even if an award of punitive damages was justified, the $5,000,000 request is excessive and unsupported by the allegations made in the complaint.”

The two parties are scheduled to appear in court on May 7, at which time a judge will consider the validity of Le’s claims and a request by Mouradian to strike certain portions of the complaint.