By Lookout Staff
August 7, 2026 – A Santa Monica Man was sentenced Thursday to life in state prison for "a brutal, unprovoked hate crime attack" aboard a Metro bus on the night of March 25, 2023, the LA County District Attorney's office announced.
The sentencing comes after a jury on June 16 found Gerald Pitts, 67, guilty of attempted murder when he used a knife to "inflict great bodily injury" to Santos Tejas Gonzalez because of the victim's "perceived nationality, race or ethnicity."
Gonzalez boarded the Metro bus at approximately 9 p.m. and "attempted to walk past Pitts to take a seat" when Pitts "immediately began shouting racial slurs at the victim.," according to the DA's office.
"When Gonzalez tried to leave the bus at the next stop on Western Avenue and Exposition Boulevard to avoid further confrontation, Pitts stabbed him multiple times in the abdomen, arm, hand and face.
"As the victim fell from the bus, Pitts kicked him repeatedly in the head while continuing to yell racial slurs. Gonzalez survived the attack despite suffering life-threatening injuries," prosecutors said.
"Gerald Pitts attacked a complete stranger because of his race or perceived race, repeatedly stabbed him, and kept attacking him even after the victim fell from the bus," District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said.
"We’re grateful the victim survived and relieved that he is continuing to recover. This kind of violence is exactly what hate crime laws are meant to address."
In a statement Hochman said, “A hate crime is more than just a criminal act against one person, it tears at the fibers that hold our community together. These crimes are meant to intimidate entire communities and weaken the trust that holds us together.
“I urge everyone in Los Angeles County to reject this behavior whenever they see it and to stand with one another across every community. Public safety depends not only on enforcing the law but on refusing to tolerate bias-driven violence in any form.
"This office will not tolerate hate incidents and crimes in our communities and will respond with the full force of the law,” Hochman said.
Pitts was sentenced to life plus seven years in state prison with the possibility of parole.