At his arraignment for a pair of felony charges that could land him in prison, 18-year-old Tyrone McAllister didn’t show much remorse for the cameras that had assembled in the Manteca courtroom.
But the young man accused of beating a 71-year-old man did flash a pair of vulgar gestures – his middle fingers – towards a news camera that was there to capture the proceedings.
McAllister, who was arrested on Wednesday morning in Modesto after his family helped Manteca Police investigators track him down once video of his assault on Sahib Singh Natt went viral, appeared in a county-issued orange jumpsuit with his hands shackled in front of him.
His bail for the felony charges of assault with a deadly weapon and attempted robbery – as well as a misdemeanor count of elder abuse – remains at $200,000, and was still in custody at the San Joaquin County Jail as of Friday evening.
His arraignment will continue next week when he appears in Department 8B of the San Joaquin County Superior Court in Downtown Stockton.
Investigators still haven’t determined whether McAllister – the son of Union City Police Chief McAllister – will be charged with a hate crime for the incident.
McAllister’s father, in a post to his department’s Facebook page earlier this week, said that his son needs to be held accountable for his actions.
And while the victim didn’t fully understand the things that were being said to him prior to being violently assaulted, elements of the beating including the taking of a religious symbol and the fact that he returned to spit on his victim have created a discussion in the community about whether the enhancement should come into play.
In comments to Fox 40 News on Friday, Stockton NAACP President Bobby Bivens commented on the issue of a hate crime specifically.
“As to whether it was just a crime or just a hate crime, I’m of the opinion that at this point, looking at the videos, that it’s just a crime committed by some young people,” Bivens told the reporter, noting that he doesn’t “want the attack to divide the community.”
To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.
