Orange County–A white homeless male with several previous convictions of assault, received 5 years in prison today for a hate crime involving a pregnant Black woman. Tyson Theodore Mayfield harassed the Black woman who was eight months pregnant at the time, at a bus stop as she waited for her ride.
Mayfield reportedly talked loudly to two other men about his dislike for Black, pregnant women.
“Would you want to watch me go over there to see if I can make her drop her baby?” Mayfield reportedly said before approaching the victim and yelling racial epithets at her.
The victim attempted to defend herself with pepper-spray and relayed that she was ‘terrified’ for her and her babies life. She called police two separate times and sought refuge inside a coffee shop before Mayfield was apprehended.
He pleaded guilty to violation of civil rights and criminal threats, both felonies, with a sentencing enhancement for a hate crime. He also pleaded guilty to misdemeanor petty theft for taking the victims backpack after harassing her.
An Orange County judge reportedly offered Mayfield two years initially, which was adamantly opposed by the District Attorney, who referred to Mayfield as “a dangerous person.”
The victim was not too happy with the five year decision. If Mayfield had gone to trial, he faced up to 38-years to life in prison.
“I had to literally run for my life when I was eight months pregnant. I was protecting myself and my unborn child. I feel like he should be in prison for much longer Five years is not enough.”
Mayfield’s attorney, however, had different sentiments about the situation saying:
“The great thing about living here in our country is we have certain liberties to express ourselves to a certain degree how we want. No matter how unpleasant we might think some peoples’ views are, racism isn’t a crime. Unfortunately, some people get confused by that. I love this country and our constitution and I’m glad to fight for its protections and to live under the freedoms it provides.”
Mayfield’s lengthy list of prior convictions, a lot which involve attacks on people, makes one question how judges could be so lenient in his sentencing. He has 17 convictions in total dating back to 1997, according to prosecutors
In 2017, he attacked a man of Filipino and Turkish descent at a
Stater Brothers in Fullerton. Mayfield punched the victim in the face after asking the victim for a lighter. He plead guilty to a hate crime and received a year in jail. He was released after serving 194 days.
In 2005, he was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon and received a two year term.
In 2006, Mayfield was convicted of stabbing a man in the face in Orange County and was sentenced to two years.
In 2008 he was sentenced to four years in prison for mayhem. He was convicted of battery against a police officer in 2003.
