MODESTO, Calif. _ An 18-year-old arrested in Monday's attack on a Sikh man at a Manteca park is the son of the Union City police chief, the Police Department in that Alameda County city reported.
Chief Darryl McAllister confirmed that his estranged son, 18-year-old Tyrone Keith McAllister, was arrested along with a 16-year-old male whose name has been withheld.
"Chief McAllister's status as a law enforcement leader has no bearing or relation to the case whatsoever, but he is devastated by how much the nature of his son's actions are such a departure from everything he has stood for in his personal life and 37-year career of compassionate, engaging police work," the Union City Police Department said in a news release.
"He and his wife worked with Manteca PD to help track down and arrest Tyrone this morning, as Tyrone has been estranged from the family and their home for some time. Chief McAllister expresses deep concern for the victim and the victim's family and he remains steadfast that his son, an adult, must be accountable for his actions."
Tyrone McAllister is a Manteca resident. His father also lives in the San Joaquin County city.
The attack on Sahib Singh Natt at Greystone Park at about 6 a.m. was captured by a surveillance video camera at a home across the street. The attackers confronted him on the sidewalk along Turquoise Way, so he walked into the street to go around them.
The pair followed him, though, and one kicked the victim several times and spat on him. When the victim fell to the ground, his turban fell off and he struck his head. He got back up to defend himself, only to be kicked down again. His attackers left on foot, but one returned and kicked him several times as he lay on the ground.
A Manteca police news release Wednesday morning called the arrests a collaborative effort between the department and the community. Investigations Supervisor Sgt. Miller said, "The public's assistance in providing information with this case was instrumental in identifying the suspects and allowed my investigators to make a quick arrest."
Both suspects face charges of attempted robbery, elder abuse and assault with a deadly weapon. McAllister will be booked into the San Joaquin County Jail and the minor into the county Juvenile Detention Center.
The investigation is continuing into whether the incident meets all of the legal elements to charge a hate crime, police said. Because the victim does not speak English well, he could not tell officers what his attackers said to him, an earlier news release said.
The Manteca crime came less than a week after a 50-year-old Sikh man was attacked in Stanislaus County. That attack near Keyes on July 31 is being investigated by the Sheriff's Department as a hate crime.
The victim, Surjit Singh Malhi, was struck with a stick and some other weapon on the head and body, and his pickup truck was painted with a white nationalist symbol and the words "Go back to ur country."
No suspects have been publicly identified in the attack.
