Members of the Hindu-American community in the South Bay said they are breathing a sigh of relief after police arrested a man suspected of targeting women in that community for their jewelry.
Because the suspect appeared to target women in the group, prosecutors have charged him with a hate crime.
The suspect, Lathan Jonson, was a no-show in the courtroom Tuesday. He told the court that he didn't take his meds and couldn't got inside the courtroom to face the judge.
District Attorney Jeff Rosen said "sometimes people don't want to face the music."
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For two months, the DA claims Johnson terrorized the South Bay Hindu community.
He's accused of specifically targeting women, pushing them to the ground and ripping off their jewelry, then jumping into a getaway car.
"It's very clear that these women were targeted for no other reason than for wearing bindis, saris and were a lot of times around temples of Indian or Hindu sites," said Samir Kalra with the Hindu American Foundation.
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Rosen said there were more than a dozen victims, two of which had their wrists broken.
The DA said he's confident his office can prove they were all hate crimes because the victims were specifically targeted, which could add 16 years to a guilty verdict.
Women at the India Community Center in Milpitas said they've been on edge for weeks because of the attacks.
"I stopped walking several months when I heard this case," a woman told NBC Bay Area.
The Hindu American Foundation said much of the gold jewelry Hindu women wear has cultural or religious significance, so for many it was a difficult choice to take it off in the name of safety.
The DA vowed to aggressively go after any suspect accused of hate crimes.
"Hatred has no home in Santa Clara County," he said. "I stand next to every criminal victim, I stand next to any victim of hate crimes."
