Police: Convenience-store beating was a hate crime
A Saturday-morning assault on a clerk at an East Davis convenience store is being investigated as a hate crime, Davis police said.
The suspect, 25-year-old Peter Lloyd Zuniga of Davis, is believed to have attacked the Quick Shop Market clerk because she is Russian, Lt. Paul Doroshov said.
Zuniga has been lodged at the Yolo County Jail on suspicion of robbery, assault and committing a hate crime, as well as additional charges for allegedly threatening to kill the Davis police officers who took him into custody, Doroshov said. His bail has been set at $180,000.
Davis Enterprise archives show that Zuniga is no stranger to law enforcement. He was arrested in March 2005 on suspicion of vehicle burglary and possession of burglary tools, and again a month later on various warrants. Police picked him up again in December 2006 after reportedly finding him riding a stolen bike.
But his alleged crimes turned more violent at about 7:40 a.m. Saturday, when, according to Doroshov, Zuniga entered the market on the corner of East Eighth Street and Pole Line Road and asked for book of matches.
“When the clerk told him she did not have matches, the suspect stole two lighters and walked out of the business,” Doroshov said. The assault occurred about 10 minutes later when Zuniga returned to the convenience store.
Quick Shop owner Ram Sah said the incident was captured on security video.
“He jumped over the counter,” Sah said as he worked the cash register Saturday afternoon. The clerk ran around the counter and out of the business in an attempt to escape.
“He chased her to the parking lot,” Sah continued. “He was kicking her.”
Doroshov said the 45-year-old woman was kicked several times in the head as she lay on the ground, resulting in a broken nose and other injuries. She was taken to Sutter Davis Hospital for treatment.
Officers caught up to Zuniga on Full Circle in the Rancho Yolo neighborhood, where “the investigation subsequently revealed the suspect may have been motivated to beat the victim because of her Russian heritage,” Doroshov said. He did not elaborate.
“She’s OK,” Sah said of the clerk, who by Saturday afternoon was recovering from her injuries at home. Sah said his employees have been victims of robberies in the past, but no one was ever physically harmed.
“They just took the money and left,” Sah said.
The assault, he said, serves as a reminder that Davis isn’t immune to violent crime.
“Davis is a safer town, but nowhere is safe these days,” Sah said. “You have to be careful all the time.”
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or (530) 747-8048. Follow her on Twitter @laurenkeene
Short URL: http://www.davisenterprise.com/?p=82877
Posted by Lauren Keene
on Sep 17 2011.
Last Login: Mon 21 May 2012 04:26:23 PM PDT
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