On a late night of August 12, 2006, in Bayside Queens, two white youths, Kevin Brown and Paul Heavey, used profanities to harass four young Chinese Americans and used weapons to assault John Lu and Reynold Liang, in violation of the anti-hate crime statues.

As the case unfolded, Kevin Brown and the prosecutor entered plead bargains in which Brown pleaded guilty and was given a reduced sentence. He confessed that he was motivated by racism in attacking the young men. In addition, at court, he also expressed his remorse. Through his attorney, he apologized to the victims and their families.

The presiding judge, Pauline Mullings, who is African American, stated that the defendant’s racial supremacist and intolerant attitude was not acceptable. Judge Mullings expressed strongly that she would not tolerate racist remarks and actions made towards against anyone because of his or her skin color, ethnicity, religion or gender. She opined that a harsh punishment would serve as a deterrent, and she sentenced him to three-and-half years in prison with two years of probation.

Brown pleaded guilty to the prosecutor’s charges of second- and third-degree hate crimes, second-degree reckless driving, and second-degree harassment. He was also charged with second-degree assault against police officers and resisting arrest.

The other Caucasian youth involved will make his appearance in the Queens Court on January 18. He did not plead guilty.

The Organization of Chinese Americans believed this case would become prevention for others.

According to Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, Brown received the deserved punishment. Furthermore, it was even more important that his sentence served as symbol for those who destroyed cultural harmony. His case ought to deter others.

The prosecutor charged that Brown violated New York’s great image of being a cultural melting pot, especially in Queens where residents immigrated from more than a hundred different countries. Brown’s actions, he said, went against the ideals of the American Dream.

Vicki Shu Smolin, the New York Chapter Chair of the Organization of Chinese Americans – the largest Asian-American civil rights organization in the nation – Flushing Assemblyman John Liu, and the civil rights attorney from the Asian American Legal and Education Defense Fund who had been assisting the victims and their families, all attended the trial at the Queens Criminal Court. They all agreed that justice prevailed and that the harsh sentence would send a powerful message that no one could use racism to destroy harmony among the different cultures.

One of the victims, John Lu, echoed with the sentiment that justice had prevailed. The two victims, who became the center of attention and whose case shocked the Chinese community, are still in college. He hoped that Brown’s crime would increase awareness in the multicultural community of New York City.

According to court papers, at 2:20 a.m. on August 12, 2006, the victims Reynold Leung, John Lu, and two other people were driving on a road in Queens, when two Caucasian youths intentionally used their car to block the victims’ car. Brown and Heavey then lowered their windows to insult the Chinese-American victims with racial slurs. One of the Chinese-American victims refused to put up with the insults and threw a water bottle at the other car.

The two sides stopped their car and engaged in an argument. Then, one of the Caucasian males took out an assault weapon to attack the Chinese American men, leaving one of them injured. After the fight, the assailants took off; however, nearby, there were the police officers from the 111th Precinct who stopped Brown and the others.

Brown resisted arrest and got into a scuffle with the police, causing minor injury to one of the officers. If Brown and Heavey were found guilty on all charges, they could face eight to 15 years in prison.