Overview
- Gerald Pitts, who a jury convicted on June 16, was sentenced Thursday to life in prison plus seven years for attempted murder and related special findings that included a hate-crime allegation.
- The attack took place in March 2023 when prosecutors say Pitts shouted racial slurs, pulled a knife and stabbed Santos Tejas Gonzalez multiple times as Gonzalez tried to leave the bus at Western Avenue and Exposition Boulevard.
- Los Angeles County prosecutors released previously unseen bus surveillance footage showing the stabbing and the attacker continuing to kick the wounded victim after he fell from the vehicle.
- Gonzalez survived life-threatening wounds to his abdomen, arm, hand and face and is reported to be continuing his recovery while the court case moved from trial to sentencing.
- District Attorney Nathan Hochman used the sentence to stress tougher enforcement of hate-crime laws, cited recent county hate-crime data, and highlighted resistance to mental-health diversion for violent bias cases as a policy priority.