Skinhead Sentenced 27 Years Life for Hate Crime Threats Fullerton

Tyson Theodore Mayfield, a self-proclaimed skinhead with swastika and SS lightning bolt tattoos and a history of violent hate crimes, was resentenced to 27 years to life in prison for threatening a pregnant Black woman at a Fullerton bus stop in 2018. Mayfield had previously received a five-year sentence in 2019, which Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer successfully appealed, arguing that the sentence was too lenient given Mayfield's violent criminal record and the racial nature of the attack. During the incident, Mayfield chased and yelled racial slurs at the woman, threatening to harm her unborn baby, prompting her to pepper-spray him before escaping. The appellate court overturned the earlier sentence, ruling that the judge's decision to strike a prior strike conviction was an abuse of discretion, enforcing California’s Three Strikes Law in this case. Spitzer emphasized that hate is a learned behavior and vowed that Orange County's diversity would not be destroyed by hate. Community organizations such as the NAACP and the Anti-Defamation League supported the victim throughout the legal process.