A federal judge on Monday sentenced a former Riverside resident to 35 years in prison for shooting and wounding two Jewish men as they left a synagogue in Pico-Robertson last year.
U.S. District Judge George Wu cited Jaime Tran’s mental health issues as a reason for not imposing the 40-year sentence sought by prosecutors. The firing of Tran, who has a history of making anti-Semitic remarks, put L.A.’s Jewish community at risk in early 2023.
One of the survivors, who still feared for his safety, was identified in court on Monday only as “Mr.” H’ said that if the bullet fired by Tran had hit “less than an inch” in the other direction, he could have easily been killed.
“I believe that without being a victim of this type of crime, it is difficult to understand when you are traumatized, when you are shot, when someone attempts to take your life,” he said. “I think 40 years is pretty generous for an attempt on two people’s lives.”
Assistant US Atty. Katherine Seiden said both victims were left feeling “sad, scared, shocked and hopeless.” Tran’s second victim did not address the court.
Seiden said one of the victims was afraid of being targeted again.
The social media posts were entered into evidence in the case against Jaime Tran, who was sentenced on Monday to 35 years in federal prison for charges related to the 2023 shootings of two Jewish men in Los Angeles.
(U.S. Attorney’s Office)
“They don’t feel represented in this country,” he said. “He feels like he lives in a country where wrongdoers are not punished and the community is really looking to the courts and the justice system here to condemn this kind of intolerance.”
Tran, 30, pleaded guilty in June to two counts of a hate crime with intent to murder and two counts of using, carrying and discharging a firearm during and in connection with a crime of violence.
Tran, whose shoulder-length hair fell into a curtain around her face, did not respond during the hearing.
His attorney, Katherine T. Corrigan, said he had done well in high school and college before developing mental health problems.
Corrigan said there was “no doubt” that anti-Semitism is very serious, but added that “it does not appear to be continuing.”
In an email statement after the hearing, Corrigan praised Wu for the sentence, which he said was “significant but includes mental health treatment.”
Corrigan said, “This case is a reminder of the tragic impact mental illness can have on a person’s life, and the dire consequences that mental health-driven conduct can have on its victims.”
Tran’s plea agreement details history of anti-Semitism Escalated In the years before the shooting.
According to the agreement, Tran left dental school in 2018 after making hateful statements about other students whom he considered Jewish.
According to the agreement, his anti-Semitic statements between August 2022 and December 2022 include violent language. During that period, prosecutors said, Tran sent messages to a former classmate saying someone was going to kill them, that they should kill themselves and “Burn you in the oven chamber – Jew.”
Tran also admitted that she emailed nearly two dozen of her former classmates a flyer containing anti-Semitic propaganda, including the statement: “Every single aspect of the COVID agenda is Jewish.”
Due to previous mental health episodes, Tran was banned from purchasing guns. He admitted that he had paid a third party approximately $1,500 to purchase a .380 pistol and an AK-47-style semiautomatic rifle.
A year before the shooting, Tran had been charged with carrying a loaded firearm.
The plea agreement also detailed Tran researching “kosher market” locations and planning to shoot someone in that area. On February 15, 2023, he went to the Pico-Robertson neighborhood, where he saw a Jewish man wearing a yarmulke – Mr. H. who spoke at Monday’s hearing.
Tran admitted that as the man opened his car door after leaving religious services, he shot him in the back at close range.
The next morning, Tran returned to the same area and saw another victim, identified by prosecutors by the initials GT, the man was leaving religious services and was also wearing a yarmulke. Tran admitted that he shot GT with the intention of killing him while he was crossing the road.
Both men survived the attacks. Law enforcement arrested Tran on February 17 and he has been in custody since.
“Targeting people for death based solely on their religious and ethnic background evokes memories of the darkest chapters in human history,” U.S. Atty. Martin Estrada of the Central District of California said in a statement. “This kind of hate-filled violence has no place in America.
At a news conference after the hearing, Jewish leaders cited the fact that Rosh Hashanah begins on Wednesday and the Oct. 7 anniversary of the attack is approaching.
Dr. Irving Lebovics, president of Agudath Israel of California, said, “We hope the message will be sent that this is a city of love and diversity and there is no room for hate.”
