A California man is under arrest after he allegedly violently assaulted an elderly woman in San Francisco last week, as crime rises and businesses leave the city.
After spitting in the face of another victim, 27-year-old James Lee Ramsey allegedly kicked the 88-year-old Asian-American woman to the ground Friday morning in downtown San Francisco, according to Fox News. Bystanders detained Ramsey until police arrived. The woman was brought to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
The unprovoked attack comes as San Francisco struggles with out-of-control crime, drug use, and homelessness that are driving businesses out of the city and state. Homicides and fentanyl deaths in San Francisco have both spiked in the past three years, with homicides increasing nearly 40 percent. More than half a million residents fled California in the two years after the pandemic’s start, according to the New York Post. More than 350 companies left California between 2018 and 2021, according to the California Globe.
Ramsey was charged with felony elder abuse and assault, as well as two misdemeanors for battery and vandalism.
San Francisco district attorney Brooke Jenkins called Ramsey's alleged crimes "horrific" and said she is "fed up with brazen violence."
Jenkins took office last July after her predecessor, Chesa Boudin, was recalled. During his stint as DA, Boudin ended cash bail and announced he would not prosecute a slew of misdemeanors, including prostitution and public urination.