San José prosecutors have criminally charged three men in connection with a violent assault at Santana Row, alleging the attack involved antisemitic slurs.
In the March 8 incident outside a restaurant at Santana Row, two people standing on the sidewalk exchanged words with three men who approached them before the confrontation turned physical, according to a San José Police Department report.
Investigators wrote that one of the suspects allegedly yelled anti-Jewish slurs before all three began punching the two victims, knocking them to the ground and continuing the assault for several seconds. Video of the incident shows three men throwing punches at the victims on the ground. The recording does not capture audio of the alleged slurs.
One victim told officers that one of the men said “F— Jews,” and believes the only reason the pair were attacked is because they were speaking Hebrew at the time, according to the police report.
The Santa Clara County district attorney’s office filed a combination of felony and misdemeanor charges against Bruneil Henry Chamaki, 32, and brothers Roma Akoyans, 20, and Ramon Akoyans, 18. But prosecutors said the case does not currently include hate crime allegations.
The investigating officer is continuing an active inquiry and working with the district attorney’s office to review the possibility of filing charges under 442.6 PC, a statute covering hate crime misdemeanors for civil rights violations, according to investigators.
Authorities have not explained why hate crime charges were not filed, but under California law, prosecutors must prove that bias motivation was a substantial factor in committing the crime.
“We won’t tolerate pummeling a victim on the ground,” Santa Clara County Dist. Atty. Jeff Rosen said in a statement. “Our public spaces have to be safe for all to enjoy without fear.”
Both victims suffered injuries, including head pain, cuts and abrasions but declined to be transported to a hospital after being treated at the scene.
The suspects were identified through a combination of surveillance video, witness statements and social media accounts that matched images captured during the incident, according to the police report.
Witnesses told officers that the confrontation escalated quickly, with one saying that “one second they were speaking and then they were throwing punches,” according to the police report.
The case is scheduled for arraignment May 12, 2026.
