Hate Crime Charges Filed Against Army Vet Who Drove Into Pedestrians in Sunnyvale

UPDATE: 4:38 p.m.

Prosecutors filed two hate crime charges against a former Army sharpshooter during a hearing Thursday, after he deliberately plowed his car into pedestrians at a Sunnyvale crosswalk last month.

The hate crime allegations against 34-year-old Isaiah Joel Peoples were added to eight counts of attempted murder.

After the crash, Sunnyvale Police Chief Phan Ngo said Peoples targeted the victims intentionally “based on their race and his belief that they were of the Muslim faith.”

Peoples’ mother said he has struggled with PTSD.

Peoples was on his way to Bible class on April 24 when he deliberately drove his vehicle into pedestrians at the intersection of El Camino Real and Sunnyvale Avenue, injuring eight people both walking in the crosswalk and waiting on the sidewalk to cross. A 9-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl were among those hurt. The girl remains in a coma with brain trauma.

“Someone’s child is in critical condition today because of someone’s ignorance and hatred,” Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. “So today, we stand with her and her family, and all of our Muslim and Indian neighbors.”

Outside of court, Rosen said he was confident that the perceived religion of several of the victims was the “substantial motivating factor” in the April attack

Peoples did not enter a plea at Thursday’s hearing in San Jose. His attorney, Chuck Smith, did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Family and friends described him as quiet and polite and expressed shock at his involvement. Peoples had no criminal record. He was honorably discharged from the Army, and police were investigating the PTSD report.

His mother, Leevell Peoples of Sacramento, said her son had “a bad episode” with PTSD in 2015, for which he was hospitalized. She said the Army forced him to retire because of the post-traumatic stress.

He had been deployed to Iraq from June 2005 to May 2006, according to Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Emanuel Ortiz. Ortiz did not answer questions, however, about whether Peoples’ departure from the Army was due to PTSD.

Leevell Peoples said her son graduated from Sacramento State University after returning from Iraq and was working as an auditor for the Defense Department in Mountain View.