March 5, 2024
SEATTLE, WA—Hate crime charges have been added against two African-American men who specifically targeted Asian families in a series of home-invasion robberies.
The charges were filed against the two suspects following a months-long investigation by Seattle and Renton police.
Javez Paul Tubbs, 32, and Demarcus Maurice Pate, 28, have been jailed since September when they were arrested for weapons violations, following a series of armed home-invasion robberies that included assaults on several Asian victims, reports KOMO News.
Bail has been set at $1.5 million each.
“I think a lot of people when the arrest were made back in September last year asked why didn’t they file charges right away and it’s because we didn’t have the totality of information that we have now,” stated Casey McNerthney, spokesperson for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
The two suspects already faced a litany of charges from assault, burglary, and now hate crime, which are all felonies.
Back in June 2023, Seattle police responded to several home invasion calls that started just after midnight one June morning and continued for several more hours into the city of Renton, all targeting people of Asian descent, according to KOMO News.
The suspects would kick the front door of a victim in one case and claim to be “Seattle police.” Investigators also say in a different case, one of the men held the wife of the family while others ransacked the house, finding $14,000 in one room and $10,000 in another.
In another case, security camera footage showed the suspects approaching an Asian homeowner from behind and tasering him. After which, they ransacked his pockets and fled the scene.
Search warrants also led police to discover a ledger found in Tubb’s house. The ledger listed more than 100 addresses and homeowner names. Some houses were burglarized in recent years.
Feature Screenshots via Washington Department of Corrections