Woman charged with hate crime after spitting on Asian man at restaurant, CA cops say

A woman has been charged with a hate crime after police said she yelled racial slurs at an Asian man dining at a restaurant and spit on him.

Mountain View police said Karen Inman, 39, was arrested Friday morning after they say she tried to steal ice cream and candy from a Smart & Final grocery store.

According to police, there was “no indication” that Inman made remarks about anyone’s ethnicity or race during Friday’s incident. However, Inman was linked to two attacks against Asians last month, according to police.

During an incident on Feb. 13, Inman is accused of trying to steal clothing and food from a store and said that she “did not have to pay because of their Asian ethnicity,” police said.

Police said Inman was also connected to a battery at a downtown restaurant, in which she allegedly yelled at two diners, one of whom was Asian.

Inman is accused of telling the man to go back to “where you came from,” spitting on him and using an ethnic slur, according to The Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office.

According to police, Inman was released after those incidents because the victims didn’t want to press charges and officers didn’t witness the alleged crimes.

Inman was later booked into the Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of petty theft, robbery and two counts of violation of civil rights by force or threat.

“This case is both disheartening and disturbing. Mountain View is a vibrant community in many ways thanks to the diversity that exists here,” Police Chief Chris Hsiung said. “Hate crimes have not and will not be tolerated in Mountain View and as this case demonstrates, we take these crimes seriously and will investigate them to the fullest extent.”

Inman is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday afternoon, the district attorney’s office said.