Tammel Esco: NY man gets 17.5 years prison as hate crime victim recalls how he punched her over 100 times
WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NEW YORK: A man who attacked a 67-year-old Asian woman was sentenced to 17.5 years in prison by the Westchester County Court. Tammel Esco pleaded guilty to punching her over 100 times in a hate crime assault on March 11. The incident took place in the lobby of the Asian woman's apartment in Yonkers.
Screaming hate-filled profanity and anti-Asian slurs against the woman of Philipino heritage, Esco was caught on surveillance video of him following the woman into the lobby and punching her brutally.
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In a news briefing by the Westchester County District Attorney's Office, DA Miriam E Rocah and Yonkers Police Commissioner Christopher Sapienza made the announcement that Esco was sentenced to 17.5 years in state prison by the Westchester County Court on November 29 for the violent hate crime against the Asian woman in Yonkers.
Pleading guilty to first-degree assault as a hate crime, Esco will be under five years of post-release supervision. The prosecutors said that in the surveillance footage, Esco is seen approaching the woman from behind, punching her over 100 times, spitting on her, and smacking her with his construction boots once he got into the lobby, reports CBS News. The surveillance video of the attack was released shortly after the incident took place.
The victim was left with bleeding on her brain, bruises, and multiple facial fractures. According to the district attorney's office, the victim appeared in court on November 29 to read her impact statement. Stating that the "heartless" incident cost her her home, the victim explained "Because of the viciousness and hate of Tammel Esco, I lost the place I called home for over 24 years, the place where I raised my daughters, and my longtime neighbors...As the attack happened, all I could think was, 'Please Lord let me live, please Lord my daughters need me."
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— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) March 15, 2022
A black male punched a 67-year-old woman 125 times & stomped on her head in Yonkers, NY after calling her an "Asian b—." She suffered brain bleeding & facial fractures. Tammel Esco has been charged with attempted murder & assault w/hate crime enhancements.#StopAsianHate pic.twitter.com/PDMBHhg8LP
"A complete stranger heartlessly spit, beat and kicked me over 100 times just because of my heritage...My only hope is that God and the criminal justice system will see fit to make sure this never happens to any other innocent family again," she added, according to the district attorney's office.
Following the sentencing of Tammel in court, DA Rocah said in the news briefing that "This is a case that has traumatized not only the victim and her family, but also her neighbors in the city of Yonkers, the broader Westchester community and the broader Asian American and Pacific Islander community really across the country.”
Rocah described the brutal assault as "one of the most vicious and shocking hate crimes" in the area. Esco was arrested and taken into custody on the day of the attack and has since been held without bail.