A New York City man who pleaded guilty to manslaughter and a hate crime in the 2021 killing of a Chinese immigrant has been sentenced to 22 years in prison, authorities said.
Jarrod Powell's attack on Yao Pan Ma, 61, in Manhattan's East Harlem neighbourhood was one of a spate of attacks targeting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders across the US.
Ma was in a coma for eight months before he died. Police surveillance video of the April 2021 attack showed Ma being knocked down from behind and kicked in the head multiple times by a lone man.
Powell pleaded guilty in January to manslaughter in the first degree as a hate crime, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office said in a statement announcing that the 51-year-old had been sentenced to 22 years in prison.
"Mr. Ma's death was the result of a despicable racially motivated attack," Bragg said. "(No) one should have to fear that they may be in danger because of their background."
Ma was a pastry chef who came to the US with his wife two years before the attack, US media have reported.
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Bragg's office said Powell admitted in his plea that he targeted Ma due to his Asian heritage. The office said it currently has 39 open cases related to anti-Asian hate crimes.
The attack on Ma came a month after a shooting spree at three Atlanta spas left eight people dead, including six Asian women.
About one-third of Asian Americans say they have changed their daily routines due to concerns over threats and attacks, according to a 2022 report from the Pew Research Center.
The FBI says there were 305 US hate crimes against Asians in 2021.