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District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah announced that Yonkers resident Tammel Esco, age 42, pleaded guilty on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022, to committing a violent hate crime on Friday, March 11 against the woman who was entering her apartment building.
According to court documents, Esco cursed at the victim, punched her around 125 times in and around her head, repeatedly stomped on her upper body, and spit on her.
“Today’s agreement secures justice for the brave victim who endured the shocking attack and its aftermath, and for a community impacted by the trauma of this hate-driven violence,” Rocah said.
Esco pled guilty to assault as a hate crime, a violent felony, the DA's Office said.
According to his plea agreement, Esco will be sentenced in November to 17 1⁄2 years in state prison, with five years of post-release supervision.
He was arrested by the Yonkers Police Department and held without bail since the March incident, the DA's Office said.
On Friday, March 11, around 6 p.m., Esco yelled at the victim, who is of Filipino descent, that she was an “Asian bitch,” police said.
Police said he then approached the victim from behind as she entered the vestibule of her apartment building on Riverdale Avenue in Yonkers and punched her in the head, knocking her to the ground.
Esco continued to punch the victim more than 100 times, repeatedly stomped on her upper body in his construction boots, and then spit on her, police said.
The Yonkers Police Department arrested him shortly after the incident, which was captured on video surveillance.
The victim was transported to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, where she was treated for bleeding on the brain, multiple facial fractures, and bruising and lacerations to the head and face.
If you are a victim or witness to a hate crime or bias incident, please contact the District Attorney’s Office at 914-995-TIPS (8477).
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