The family of a gay 20-year-old Korean/Filipino man found dead in a San Francisco high-rise nearly five years ago is formally requesting the United States Department of Justice launch a hate crimes investigation.
Glenn D. Magpantay, an attorney representing Angie Aquino-Sales and Jimmy Sales, who are the parents of the late Jaxon Sales, penned a letter November 20 to FBI Director Christopher Wray and Assistant U.S. Attorney General Kristen Clarke saying that they believe the man they hold responsible for Sales' death violated federal hate crimes laws on the basis of Sales' race and sexual orientation. The family is asking pursuant to the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009. The Bay Area Reporter is not naming the man as he has not been charged with a crime.
The San Francisco FBI office didn't immediately return requests for comment. The Department of Justice declined to comment other than to state it had received the letter.
Died in 2020
As the B.A.R. previously reported (https://www.ebar.com/story.php?ch=news&id=322648) Jaxon Sales died March 2, 2020 in the Rincon Hill apartment of a 41-year-old white man. But his death was deemed accidental by officials and wasn't investigated at the time by police as possibly a homicide.
Jaxon Sales was determined to have died of acute mixed-drug intoxication, with gamma-hydroxybutyric acid, methamphetamine, and cocaine in his system, according to the San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The Sales family previously told the B.A.R. that an official with the medical examiner's office told them "no investigation is needed as 'the gay community uses GHB,'" a statement they said is discriminatory, and which was previously reported by the B.A.R.
When reached by the B.A.R. at the time, a spokesperson for the medical examiner's office neither confirmed nor denied the GHB statement was made to Jaxon Sales' parents but said that an individual's sexual orientation does not influence their medical determination.
While GHB is used recreationally by some gay men, it has also been linked to date-rape and murder.
The Sales' letter states that "a federal investigation and prosecution are needed and warranted," alleging that the man the family holds responsible for Jaxon Sales' death "had a history of targeting and luring young, gay, Asian men to his apartment" in the Rincon Hill neighborhood.
"Jaxon was selected because he's Asian, because he's gay," Magpantay told the B.A.R. in a phone interview. "That was sufficient ... a hate crime charge is warranted."
Legal theory unveiled
Magpantay is arguing that someone can be found responsible for a bias-motivated crime due to an immutable characteristic — in this case, sexual orientation and race — without it necessarily being caused by hatred of those groups.
"Does bias mean hate animus?" he asked. "And when I did research on this statute, I wasn't sure. If you target someone because of race, ethnicity, or age, it doesn't mean you hate them. Animus, hatred, isn't a legal requirement in a hate crime. The victim has to have been selected and targeted because of their association with a particular protected category."
The letter contains some precedents in an attempt to show that hatred of a group isn't a requirement per se; for example, in the 2020 case Lucas v. the United States, one of the perpetrators and the victim shared the same sexual orientation, but the District of Columbia Court of Appeals acknowledged "it is well known that people can demonstrate bias and discriminate against others who fall within the same protected category as they do."
In the Lucas case, a lesbian and her brother were convicted of beating a gay man in a homophobic attack during which they yelled, "faggot motherfucker," among other slurs at the victim, according to prosecutors.
When pressed on the matter, Magpantay conceded that "on some level this is a case of first impression — I did not have a case fully on point adjudicated."
"We'll be creating a bit of new law if we get into that nuance," he continued. "The defense can definitely say, 'I don't hate the person,' but the element is 'did you select him because of his race?'"
Angie Aquino-Sales agrees requesting a federal investigation is an appropriate step.
"We have gone through the process and honestly, there have been agencies within the city of San Francisco that have been responsive to us, and those who could make a difference that were not responsive to us," she said, including state officials.
San Francisco police eventually did investigate the case as a homicide — for which Aquino-Sales said she was grateful — but charges weren't filed by the San Francisco District Attorney's office.
Among those she found "not responsive" was California Attorney General Rob Bonta. Aquino-Sales said he'd personally assured her he'd take a look at the case a second time after his office had initially declined to pursue it, but she has not heard back from him in over a year.
A Bonta spokesperson said November 22 that his office looked into the matter a second time and sent a letter September 17, 2024. The B.A.R. reached out to Magpantay to inform him and Aquino-Sales of this information but didn't immediately hear back.
A wrongful death suit she filed in San Francisco County Superior Court against the man she holds responsible for her son's death has been delayed. Aquino-Sales is representing herself in that legal matter.
"This is a very complex case," she said. "When you're a defendant, you're not as willing to talk or answer, so there's been delays on that, and also, I'm representing us and so learning the law and how to maneuver through and navigate through things that aren't my profession definitely has taken some time."
Magpantay said he has confidence that the Justice Department will continue to investigate hate crimes no matter whom President-elect Donald Trump appoints to head it. Shortly after the phone interview with Magpantay, Trump's AG nominee, former Congressmember Matt Gaetz (R-Florida), withdrew himself from contention amid allegations he paid for sex, had been seen having sex with a minor, and had been at a party where minors were present along with alcohol, cocaine, and MDMA.
"Once the Justice Department gets it, they'll open up a file and commence an investigation. We'll see what happens," Magpantay said. "I cannot tell you whether the new attorney general or assistant attorney general for civil rights or FBI director will want to take it to fruition. I can say that hate crimes has bipartisan support — even Trump made statements after the Pulse nightclub shooting."
(The Pulse nightclub shooting, during Trump's first run for the presidency in 2016, was the deadliest terrorist attack in the U.S. since September 11, 2001; Omar Mateen killed 49 people and injured 53 more at a Latin night at an LGBTQ nightclub, Pulse, in Orlando, Florida. Mateen said he was avenging the U.S. killing of an Iraqi ISIS leader.)
The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act was signed by then-President Barack Obama in 2009. It expanded the 1968 federal hate crimes law to also cover sexual orientation and gender identity. On November 19, the act marked its 15th anniversary, and Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer delivered remarks on the anniversary in Washington, D.C.
The State of California offers help for victims or witnesses to a hate crime or hate incident. This resource is supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library in partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.
Updated, 11/22/24: This article has been updated with a responses from the Justice Department and AG Bonta's office.
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