SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) - A California appeals panel has rejected a court-offered plea deal for a man charged with making racist threats against a pregnant African American woman.
The three-judge panel for the Fourth District Court of Appeal ruled Tuesday that the deal - opposed by prosecutors - was an “abuse of discretion” by Orange County Superior Court Judge Roger B. Robbins.
Tyson Mayfield was sentenced last year to five years for threatening the woman and her unborn baby at a bus stop, prompting her to use pepper spray to protect herself and eventually run for help.
Mayfield, who is white and has a swastika tattoo, has several prior convictions for attacking people, including punching a man outside a supermarket while yelling racist slurs.
Prosecutors sought a 38-years-to-life sentence for Mayfield. They argued that he shouldn’t have been eligible for the deal because of his convictions, and the appeals panel agreed.
“By virtue of his prior offenses, respondent has shown he is fully willing and able to inflict great physical harm on his victims, and there is nothing to suggest he would not have done so again in this case,” the panel wrote.
The case will be returned to trial court, where Mayfield will have the option of withdrawing his plea, said Gerald J. Miller, his attorney on the appeals case. Miller declined further comment.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer welcomed the decision. In a statement Wednesday, Spitzer said the decision “echoes the outrage that I expressed to the trial court over allowing such an evil person the opportunity to continue to victimize innocent people because of the color of their skin.”
Kostas Kalaitzidis, an Orange County Superior Court spokesperson, said the court can’t comment on ongoing cases.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.