New York man pleads guilty to hate crime in stabbing of Jamaican woman
Key Points(5)
- A New York man has pleaded guilty to a federal hate crime after stabbing a 59-year-old Jamaican-American woman in Newburgh in June 2024 because of her race and color.
- Scott Schunzel, 33, entered the guilty plea Thursday before U.S.
- District Judge Vincent Briccetti in connection with the June 18, 2024, attack, according to the U.S.
- Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
- Schunzel faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for the offense.
A New York man has pleaded guilty to a federal hate crime after stabbing a 59-year-old Jamaican-American woman in Newburgh in June 2024 because of her race and color.
Scott Schunzel, 33, entered the guilty plea Thursday before U.S. District Judge Vincent Briccetti in connection with the June 18, 2024, attack, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
Schunzel faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for the offense. His sentencing will be determined by the judge.
According to court filings and statements made in court, Schunzel stabbed the woman with a knife at about 10:30 a.m. while she was standing beside a parked fruit truck.
The victim sustained a deep wound to her left hamstring and was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital, where she received stitches.
A subsequent search of Schunzel’s residence uncovered writings and other materials indicating hostility toward Black people, including statements about killing and stabbing Black women, prosecutors said.
Schunzel fled to Florida on June 19, the day after the attack, and was later arrested by FBI officers from the agency’s Miami field office.
U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald said the guilty plea acknowledged that the attack was racially motivated.
“As he has now admitted, Scott Schunzel deliberately stabbed a Jamaican-American woman and longtime Newburgh resident with a knife because of her race and color,” McDonald said.
He added that his office would continue pursuing cases involving violence motivated by racial hatred.
FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle Jr. said the plea recognized the harm inflicted on the victim and the need to hold perpetrators of bias-motivated violence accountable.
“There is simply no tolerance for hate-fueled violence anywhere in New York,” Barnacle said.
McDonald credited the FBI’s New York and Miami offices, the FBI Hudson Valley White Collar Crime Task Force, the Newburgh Police Department and the Town of Poughkeepsie Police Department for their investigative work. He also thanked the Dutchess County District Attorney’s Office for its assistance.
The case is being prosecuted by the Civil Rights and Human Trafficking Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaiya Arroyo handling the prosecution.
