A transient with a history of antisemitism who authorities say admitted attempting to kill two people who he believed were Jewish in Los Angeles in 2023 has agreed to plead guilty to hate-crime charges and other offenses, the U.S. Department of Justice said Tuesday, May 14.
Jaime Tran, 29, had made Riverside one of his homes, and he was arrested in Cathedral City on Feb. 16, 2023, the day of the second shooting in two days in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood of L.A. Tran had a rifle and handgun when he was arrested, authorities said.
The charges, both felonies, are two counts of hate crimes with intent to kill and two counts of using, carrying, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. Tran is expected to plead guilty before U.S. District Judge George H. Wu in L.A. in the coming weeks, a DOJ news release said.
Tran will face a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison for each hate crime count. For the firearms charges, Tran could receive between a minimum of 10 years for each count and a maximum of life in prison, the release said. But under a plea agreement with prosecutors, Tran would receive a prison sentence of 35 years to 40 years.
“These horrific acts – motivated by poisonous, antisemitic beliefs – shocked our community,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in the release. “Law enforcement will continue to work together to prevent and punish hate crimes. Our resolve remains firm, standing with our Jewish community and others to oppose acts of hate.”
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According to the plea agreement, Tran admitted developing and espousing antisemitic beliefs and making violent threats toward Jewish people. In 2018, Tran left dental school after making hate-filled statements about other students whom he perceived to be Jewish.
From August 2022 to December 2022, Tran’s antisemitic statements escalated, among them threats made against a former classmate whom he repeatedly called and texted with messages such as “I want you dead, Jew,” “Someone is going to kill you, Jew,” and “Burn in an oven chamber,” the DOJ release said.
In November 2022, Tran emailed two dozen former classmates a flyer containing antisemitic propaganda, including the statement, “EVERY SINGLE ASPECT OF THE COVID AGENDA IS JEWISH.” The next month, Tran emailed his former classmates excerpts from a website describing Jewish persons as “primitive” and having “thick skulls.”
As a result of previous mental health holds, Tran was prohibited from purchasing firearms. In January 2023, Tran asked someone to buy two firearms for him. Tran paid approximately $1,500 in cash to that person, who then purchased them.
On Feb. 15, 2023, Tran searched online for “kosher market,” and planned to shoot someone near a kosher market because he believed there would be Jewish people in the area. Tran drove to Pico-Robertson and shot a Jewish victim wearing a yarmulke at close range as he was leaving religious services at a synagogue, the release said. Tran then fled in his car.
The next morning, Tran returned to the Pico-Robertson area, intending to shoot another Jewish person. Tran shot a second Jewish victim, also wearing a yarmulke and leaving a synagogue after attending religious services. Tran shot that victim at close range as well, the release said.
Both victims survived.
Witness statements and images of Tran and his car led authorities to track him down and arrest him.
The shootings unnerved the Jewish community amid a rise in hate crimes nationwide and prompted the LAPD to increase its presence in the area.
