Man sentenced to life for racially motivated stabbing on Los Angeles Metro bus
Gerald Pitts received a life term after a jury convicted him of attempted murder and hate-crime charges for repeatedly stabbing Latino passenger Santos Tejas Gonzalez on a Metro bus.
A jury convicted Gerald Pitts of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and several hate-crime special allegations for a vicious attack on a Metro bus in Los Angeles. The incident unfolded in March 2023 when Santos Tejas Gonzalez, a Latino passenger, attempted to pass Pitts for a seat; Pitts responded with racial epithets and produced a knife, stabbing Gonzalez in the abdomen, arm, hand and face. After the victim fell at the Western Avenue and Exposition Boulevard stop, Pitts kept shouting slurs and kicked him in the head.
On Thursday, a judge sentenced Pitts to life imprisonment plus seven years, with a possibility of parole. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said the case underscores the purpose of hate-crime statutes to protect communities. The county recorded 1,355 hate-crime reports in 2024, a slight decline from the previous year.
Why it matters
The case illustrates the seriousness of hate-motivated violence and the legal system's response to protect targeted communities.
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