SANTA ANA, Calif. – A third-strike self-proclaimed skinhead with a history of violence and committing hate crimes was convicted Monday of criminal threats and a hate crime for chasing an 8-month pregnant black woman from a Fullerton bus stop and threatening to kill her unborn child while hurling racist epithets at the woman. He now faces a maximum sentence of 38-years-to-life.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer successfully appealed the previous five-year sentence given to Tyson Theodore Mayfield in this case in 2019 as an abuse of discretion by then-Orange County Superior Court Judge Roger B. Robbins.
In 2020, the California Fourth District Court of Appeal overturned Judge Robbins’ decision to strike a prior strike conviction over the objection of prosecutors when sentencing a third-strike defendant with a history of violence and committing hate crimes for chasing a pregnant black woman and threatening to kill her unborn child.
Judge Roger B. Robbins’ decision to strike the prior conviction allowed him to sentence the then 45-year-old Mayfield, of Mission Viejo, to five years in state prison instead of the mandatory 25 years to life required by California’s Three Strikes Law. Mayfield was facing 38 years to life in state prison as a result of sentencing enhancements charged in the case.
The appellate court ruled the dismissal of Mayfield’s strike was an abuse of judicial discretion by Robbins. The decision invalidates the five-year sentence imposed by Robbins and returned the case to the trial court for prosecution.
District Attorney Todd Spitzer appeared repeatedly in front of Judge Robbins to argue against a lenient sentence given Mayfield’s violent and racist criminal history.
“Tyson Mayfield was not forced to be a racist. It is something that he celebrates, it is something he practices, and it was something he was practicing when he rushed up to an 8-month pregnant woman with his swastika and SS lightning bolts tattoos on display and threatened to kill her unborn baby,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “I hope that no one else ever has to feel the absolute blood-chilling terror this young mother described as she had to run for her life – and the life of her baby – not because of what she did, but because of the color of her skin. I have spent decades fighting for victims – especially victims of hate – and ensuring that justice is served. While Judge Robbins ignored that young woman’s pleas for justice, thankfully the jury did not ignore the facts and convicted Tyson Mayfield of exactly what he did – threaten a pregnant black woman because he is a racist. We will never allow hate to win.”
Mayfield was charged on Sept. 19, 2018, with one felony count of hate crime criminal threats with present ability to commit violent injury, one felony count of criminal threats, and one misdemeanor count of petty theft, and prior serious and violent felony convictions for assault with a deadly weapon in 2005 and mayhem in 2008 in Orange County.
Mayfield pleaded guilty to all charges and was sentenced in May 2019 to the court offer of five years in state prison.
Judge Robbins originally offered a two-year sentence but increased the offer to five years after District Attorney Spitzer appeared in court in April 2019 to object. District Attorney Spitzer appeared again in May 2019 to reiterate his objection to the court’s light offer and the striking of one of the defendant’s prior strikes.
“He is a dangerous person. There is just no question he is a racist,” District Attorney Todd Spitzer told the Court at the time, noting Mayfield’s swastika and SS lightning bolt tattoos. “He is indiscriminately picking out people on the street because he doesn’t like the way they look and using violence against them. Is a five-year sentence going to protect society against someone so evil?”
Members of Christ Our Redeemer Church in Irvine, the NAACP, the OC Human Relations Commission, and the Anti-Defamation League attended court hearings in support of the victim.
On Sept. 17, 2018, Mayfield approached a pregnant black woman sitting on a bus bench in Fullerton and yelled racial slurs at her. The defendant clenched his fists and repeatedly threatened to make the victim “drop” her unborn baby. Jane Doe feared for her safety and pepper sprayed Mayfield. The defendant stole the victim’s backpack and walked away.
Jane Doe contacted the Fullerton Police Department (FPD) who investigated this case but were not initially able to locate Mayfield. The victim returned to the bus bench and Mayfield approached her again, threatened to harm her, and used racial slurs. The defendant chased Jane Doe into a nearby café, where she remained until FPD located and arrested Mayfield. The defendant has multiple tattoos of symbols associated with white supremacy.
In a victim impact statement presented to the Court pursuant to Marsy’s Law, Jane Doe expressed her desire for a longer sentence. She fears for her safety and her children’s safety if Mayfield has access to find them and make good on his threats.
Jane Doe stated in part: “This situation has worsened my diagnosis of PTSD. Then it physically affected me. When Tyson was walking towards me telling me ‘I’m going to make sure you drop your baby. It’s a promise making sure you have this baby. I don’t like pregnant n****** like you, I have a field day of doing that,’ I felt very scared … When he made these threats towards me, what came to my mind was that he wanted to physically hurt me and my unborn child and do whatever he could for me to have this baby.”
“I literally had to run for my life when I was eight months pregnant. I was protecting myself and my unborn child,” she told the court. “I feel like he should be in prison for much longer. Five years is not enough.”
Prior Hate Crime Conviction
On Sept. 4, 2017, Mayfield approached John Doe in a commercial parking lot in Fullerton. The defendant became agitated because the victim did not have a lighter he could borrow. Mayfield called John Doe, who is Filipino and Turkish, a racial slur and punched the victim multiple times. A nearby witness called 911 to report the incident. FPD officers responded to the scene and arrested the defendant.
Mayfield was convicted in on Oct. 19, 2017, of one misdemeanor count of hate crime assault causing injury. As part of his Court-offered plea, the charge was reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor, and prior strike conviction enhancements were dismissed. Mayfield was sentenced to one year in county jail. At the time of the crime, Mayfield was on parole.
Other Racially Motivated Conviction
Mayfield was sentenced to nine years in state prison for a 2005 mayhem conviction, in which he made racist comments towards a woman and her boyfriend getting gas after they declined to give Mayfield change. Mayfield hurled racial epithets as he punched the male victim repeatedly in the face, causing a gash in his mouth that required eight stiches.
Mayfield is scheduled to be sentenced on his most recent conviction on August 29, 2025, at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana in Department C35.
Deputy District Attorney Gerard Gully of Special Prosecutions is prosecuting this case.