SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – A 57-year-old San Diego man was convicted of battery and committing a hate crime in May, according to the San Diego District Attorney’s Office.
On Monday, Tony Taverlia McQueen was sentenced to 44 days in jail with credit for time already served for beating a transgender person at a downtown San Diego homeless resource center. McQueen previously pleaded guilty to battery and a felony in an unrelated case. As part of the resolution in both cases, he will be on probation for two years.
“Every person should be able to live a peaceful and dignified life free from intimidation and violence,” City Attorney Mara W. Elliott said. “Crimes like this have no place in our society. We strongly encourage victims and witnesses of hate crimes to come forward so that we can seek justice for our communities.”
In May, the victim was seeking services at the San Diego Homelessness Response Center which McQueen frequented and was known by the staff. He made a derogatory remark about the victim’s clothing and then punched the victim four times in the head. The victim was able to fight him off and was not seriously injured.
McQueen was also ordered to stay away from the homeless center in addition to his probation.
The City Attorney’s Office takes reports of hate crimes seriously, and urges victims and witnesses to report incidents to the San Diego Police Department, or directly to the City Attorney’s Office at (619) 236-6220 or CityAttorney@sandiego.gov.
