A Swastika tattooed man was convicted Monday for condemning and threatening the life of a pregnant black woman and threatening the life of her unborn child and now faces at least 38 years in prison after Orange County District Attorney filed a “too tolerant” sentence.
The case began about seven years ago, according to prosecutors, when Tyson Theodore Mayfield, a self-proclaimed bald avatar, was condemned and threatened a pregnant black woman waiting for a bus on a Fullerton bench.
According to the criminal lawsuit, the then 42-year-old Mission Viejo man grabbed his fist and threatened the life of the woman's unborn child.
The woman, known in court documents as Jane Doe, fled and called Fullerton police officers who did not find the man.
She quickly returned to the bench, as did Mayfield, who again threatened her in racial slander, according to court documents.
This time, the doe hid in a nearby restaurant and called police, who discovered and arrested Mayfield.
The arrest and plea of guilty to two felony counts and one misdemeanor count initially resulted in five years in prison. Prosecutors said Mayfield will serve at least 38 years after a series of court disputes and pressures, including the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
Tyson Theodore Mayfield
(Orange County District Attorney)
“I hope no one else has to feel the absolutely blood-filled horror this young mother says, because she has to run for her life and the life of her baby, not because of what she does, but because of the color of her skin,” Orange County District. “Atty. Todd Spitzer said in a statement.
There was no call back to the Public Defender Office.
Mayfield, 49, is charged with one felony charge of a criminal threat, a capacity to cause violent injury, one felony threat and one misdemeanor theft.
He pleaded guilty in May 2019 and was initially sentenced to two years in prison, according to the DA's office. Orange County Superior Court Judge Roger B. Robbins eventually raised the verdict to five years, but revoked one of Mayfield’s first two strikes, according to the DA’s office.
The action prevented Mayfield from facing a tougher three-hit sentence in California, which required at least 25 years in prison.
Mayfield was previously convicted of a felony assault on a deadly weapon in 2005 and was convicted in Orange County in 2008. He was also charged and convicted of misdemeanor hate crimes for racial slander and assaulted a man in 2017.
Spitzer disagreed with Robbins, believing that the five-year prison sentence was too “leniency”, while organizations such as the NAACP and the Orange County Interpersonal Relations Committee gathered to support the DOE.
Spitzer said of Mayfield in 2019: “He picked people out on the street in a mess.
Eventually, Spitzer appealed to the California Fourth District Court of Appeal later that year, claiming that Robbins abused his discretion to strike as a judge.
The Court of Appeal agreed with Spitzer and noted that Robbins' actions shocked them.
District Attorney Public Affairs Commissioner Kimberly Edds said the case was sent back to the trial court and was postponed because the defense found their client unreasonable in spirit.
Mayfield, who was eventually sentenced to trial, was convicted on Monday and will return to court on August 29, facing a sentence of at least 38 years in prison.
“While Judge Robbins overlooked the young woman's request for justice, thankfully the jury did not ignore the facts and did exactly what he did for Tyson Mayfield: threatening a pregnant black woman because he was a racist,” Spitzer said. “We will never let hatred win.”
