Kent man sentenced in hate-crime beating of Sikh cabdriver

A victim's forgiveness and a defendant's remorse led a King County Superior Court judge to be lenient Friday when she sentenced a construction worker who attacked a Sikh taxi driver last year.

Judge Monica Benton sentenced Luis Vázquez, 21, of Kent, to nine months in jail and 240 hours of community service for the hate crime. He will be eligible for work-release during his time in jail, the judge said.

Prosecutors had asked for a two-year sentence.

Benton said that while racism is pernicious and hate crimes undermine society, forgiveness and remorse play a role in justice as well.

Vázquez pleaded guilty last month to reckless endangerment, second-degree assault and malicious harassment, the state's name for a hate crime, for the Nov. 24 attack on Sukhvir Singh, an Indian-born member of the Sikh religious community.

In court Friday, Vázquez said he did not remember the drunken assault but was ashamed and shocked when he woke up in jail and learned what he had done.

"I'm really, really sorry for what I put you through," Vázquez told Singh during the hearing that was packed with his family and members of the Sikh community. "I'm sorry for making you have to look back over your shoulder when you walk."

Vázquez had been too drunk to gain admission to the Apple Cup at Husky Stadium when he was put into a cab driven by Singh.

While Singh was driving down Interstate 5 at 60 mph, Vázquez punched him, bit him on the scalp and called him an "Iraqi terrorist."

Singh, who pulled to the side of the freeway, told police that he had been afraid for his life and that of others on the road.

Singh fled the taxi and Vázquez followed, court papers said, and the attack stopped only when a Metro bus pulled up and Vázquez tried to board.

Singh said through a Punjabi interpreter on Friday that he and other members of the Sikh community wanted to offer forgiveness to Vázquez once they learned he had no previous criminal offenses and had a history of steady work.

Singh said he did not want to see the young man's life ruined.

"If someone has made a mistake, they should learn a lesson from it," Singh said. "They should be punished accordingly, and it should be known to society that it is not good to have hate toward any human being."

Several members of the Sikh community spoke at the hearing. They talked about how the Sikh are peaceful and have no ties to terrorists but have endured prejudice and slurs since Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

"I hope this message goes to the public," said Gurdev Singh Mann. "You should not be judging people from what they look like."

Vázquez said after the hearing that he was grateful for Singh's forgiveness and that he has learned his lesson.

He is attending an alcohol-treatment program and said he does not intend to drink anymore.

Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com