Black man receives sentence after stabbing stranger in face on bus, yelling racial slurs at victim

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said the sentence against Gerald Pitts was intended to show that law enforcement officials take racially motivated violence seriously.

Santos Tejas Gonzalez was trying to get around Pitts on a Los Angeles Metro Bus in March 2023 when Pitts yelled racial slurs at Gonzalez.

‘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.’

When Gonzalez tried to get off the bus at the next stop to avoid further confrontation, Pitts stabbed him in the face and kicked him in the head after the victim fell off the bus.

At one point before Gonzalez fell to the ground outside the bus, the knife can