Man charged with hate crime against Asian-American postal worker in Daly City

DALY CITY, Calif. - A 26-year-old man has been charged for an alleged hate crime in Daly City against a U.S. Postal Service worker who is Asian American, San Mateo County prosecutors said Tuesday.   

Lamont Demetrius West Verdon, of Oakland, was charged with making criminal threats with a hate crime enhancement, according to the District Attorney's Office. He also faced drug charges. 

Prosecutors said the victim was outside of his USPS truck delivering mail on Saturday, when Verdon approached him and said, "F--- you, I'm going to kill you, you f---ing Asian." The suspect then pulled the postal worker's backpack off and began rummaging through it.    

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The victim ran back to his truck and locked himself inside, as Verdon followed him and continued to scream at him, according to investigators. The postal worker called 911 and officers located the suspect nearby, where he was arrested.   

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Verdon was arraigned on Monday and entered a not guilty plea. He was appointed a public defender through the county's Private Defender Program. His bail has been set at $1,000, and a judge ordered him to not contact the victim, prosecutors said. He's scheduled to return to court on June 17.

KTVU contributed to this report.