D.A. Bragg Announces Guilty Plea of Jarrod Powell For Hate Crime Killing of Asian Elder


January 12, 2023

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., today announced the guilty plea of JARROD POWELL, 51, for the 2021 death of 61-year-old Yao Pan Ma. POWELL pleaded guilty in New York State Supreme Court to one count of Manslaughter in the First Degree as a Hate Crime. Under the terms of the plea, POWELL will be sentenced to 22 years in state prison and 5 years’ post-release supervision. He will be sentenced on March 9, 2023.

“This unprovoked attack took the life of Yao Pan Ma and took away a sense of security for so many in the AAPI community in New York,” said District Attorney Bragg. “Jarrod Powell attacked Mr. Ma because of his race and is now being held accountable. My thoughts are with Mr. Ma’s family and friends as they continue to mourn this loss.”

As admitted in POWELL’s plea, at approximately 8:15 p.m. on April 23, 2021, POWELL observed Mr. Ma, who weighed 114 pounds, on the corner of 125th Street and 3rd Avenue. POWELL ran up to Mr. Ma from behind and struck him, knocking him to the ground. POWELL then stomped on Mr. Ma’s head multiple times and repeatedly kicked him in the head, face, and neck. The defendant fled the scene as Mr. Ma lay unconscious on the corner of 125th Street and 3rd Avenue.
 
An MTA bus driver, who was stopped at a traffic light and witnessed the attack, flagged down a nearby ambulance. FDNY EMTs found Mr. Ma and transported him to Harlem Hospital, where he was treated for facial fractures and bleeding on the brain. As a result of the attack, Mr. Ma sustained a traumatic brain injury and was placed on life support. POWELL evaded authorities for four days until he was identified through video surveillance and apprehended by the NYPD on April 27, 2021.
 
Following his arrest, POWELL made statements to law enforcement in which he claimed to have been attacked by two Korean or Japanese men the day before he attacked Mr. Ma. Subsequently, the defendant admitted that he did not report the alleged robbery to police and did not provide a description of his alleged assailants beyond their racial identities. Mr. Ma remained hospitalized in a vegetative state until he died from his injuries on December 31, 2021. 
As admitted in his plea to this hate crime, POWELL targeted Mr. Ma because he was Asian.

The Manhattan D.A.’s Office currently has 44 open hate crime cases related to anti-Asian hate crimes. The Office is a safe place to report crimes regardless of your immigration status. If you have been a victim or witness to a hate crime or bias incident, please call our Hate Crimes Hotline at 212-335-3100.

Assistant D.A. Molly Presant handled the case under the supervision of Assistant D.A.s Jonathan Junig (Deputy Chief of the Hate Crimes Unit), Hannah Yu (Chief of the Hate Crimes Unit), and Robert Ferrari (Chief of Trial Bureau 40) and Executive Assistant D.A. Lisa DelPizzo (Chief of the Trial Division). Former Assistant D.A. Eli Crozier and Trial Preparation Assistant Alec Simon also assisted with the investigation.
 
D.A. Bragg thanked Detective Lamount Deaderick of the 25th Precinct Detective Squad, as well as members of the NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force, for their assistance with the investigation.

Defendant Information:
JARROD POWELL
New York, New York

Convicted:

  • Manslaughter in the First Degree as a Hate Crime, a class B violent felony, one count

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