Asian community alarmed by assault at Lake Tahoe

A married couple will be arraigned today in South Lake Tahoe in an assault that at least one Northern California advocacy group is comparing to the killing in Sacramento of Satender Singh.

Joseph Frank Silva and Georgia Ruth Silva face charges in an attack that severely injured a man of East Indian heritage July 14 at El Dorado Beach. The case comes in the wake of a July 1 attack at Lake Natoma that resulted in the death of Singh, who also was of East Indian heritage.

"I don't remember any case like this, and I have been in this office for over 20 years," said Peter O'Hara, the El Dorado County deputy district attorney handling the case. "We are taking it very seriously up here."

The victim in the South Lake Tahoe case is described by his lawyer as a San Francisco executive in his mid-30s, an immigrant from India and an American citizen. The attorney, Edwin Prather of San Francisco, declined to name his client, saying the man feared retribution.

Prather said the man was walking on the beach with his fiancée and her cousin, who also are of East Indian heritage, when the Silvas shouted racial slurs at the women. When confronted by the man, Prather said, the Silvas continued shouting slurs. Prather said his client was attacked as he dialed 911.

"It starts with words and then it gets worse," O'Hara said. "I believe (the victim) was knocked down and kicked in the face." He said the victim's injuries included serious facial fractures around the eye that may require surgery.

The El Dorado County District Attorney's Office also declined to release the name of the victims.

O'Hara said Joseph Silva is charged with felony assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury and a "special allegation" that he did indeed inflict great bodily injury on the victim. He also is charged with misdemeanor battery. Both Silvas also are charged with two counts of violation of civil rights, which is a misdemeanor, O'Hara said.

A telephone call to a South Lake Tahoe number listed for the Silvas was not answered. By late Tuesday there had been no response to a message left on an answering machine requesting comment about the case.

The incident is prompting a red alert from the Asian Law Caucus, a San Francisco-based civil rights group.

Attorney Shirin Sinnar of the caucus said her group was contacted by the victim's family to make sure the Silvas are charged with a hate crime.

After the death of Satender Singh and the possible Aug. 12 arson of an Islamic center in Antioch, the Asian Law Caucus is especially vigilant, Sinnar said.

The string of attacks "may just be coincidence," she said, but "it's certainly cause for concern."

Jerry Chong, chief legal counsel for the Sacramento-based Council of Asian Pacific Islanders Together for Advocacy and Leadership, or CAPITAL, said Tuesday he was not aware of the incident in South Lake Tahoe but found the news troubling.

He said that in the wake of Singh's death, he's "very concerned about the increase of hate crimes against Asians."

Singh, 26, came to the United States from Fiji. He died as the result of a single punch that came after a verbal confrontation between a group Singh was with and another group at Lake Natoma. One man has been arrested and another suspect is being sought. The attackers are alleged to have have used racial and anti-gay slurs before the attack.

El Dorado County officials said the Silvas have not spent any time in jail because of the incident. But Prather said he is pleased with the way the case is proceeding.

"There is little doubt that this case is a hate crime," he said. "When people attack a guy like this for the color of his skin, they're attacking all of society."

About the writer:

• The Bee's David Richie can be reached at (916) 608-7455 or drichie@sacbee.com.