A third-strike self-proclaimed skinhead with a history of violence and hate crimes was found guilty of criminal threats and a hate crime on Monday after chasing an 8-month pregnant Black woman from a Fullerton bus stop and threatening to kill her unborn child while hurling racist epithets at her. He is now facing a potential sentence of 38 years to life.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer successfully challenged the earlier five-year sentence imposed on 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 against prosecutors’ objections when sentencing a third-strike defendant with a history of violence and hate crimes for chasing a pregnant Black woman and threatening to kill her unborn child.
Judge Roger B. Robbins’ decision to overturn the prior conviction permitted him to sentence the 45-year-old Mayfield of Mission Viejo to five years in state prison instead of the obligatory 25 years to life under California’s Three Strikes Law. Mayfield faced 38 years to life in state prison as a result of the sentencing enhancements levied in the case.
The appellate court concluded that Robbins’ dismissal of Mayfield’s strike constituted an abuse of judicial power. The verdict invalidates Robbins’ five-year sentence and returns the case to the trial court for prosecution.
Given Mayfield’s violent and racist criminal past, District Attorney Todd Spitzer stood before Judge Robbins several times to urge for a harsher punishment.
“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.”
On September 19, 2018, Mayfield was charged with one felony count of hate crime criminal threats with the present ability to cause violent injury, one felony count of criminal threats, and one misdemeanor count of petty theft, as well as prior serious and violent felony convictions in Orange County for assault with a deadly weapon in 2005 and mayhem in 2008.
Mayfield pleaded guilty to all counts and received a five-year state prison sentence in May 2019.
Judge Robbins first proposed a two-year sentence but elevated it to five years after District Attorney Spitzer returned to court in April 2019 to object. In May 2019, District Attorney Spitzer returned to express his opposition to the court’s lenient offer and the dismissal 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 all attended court sessions to support the victim.
On September 17, 2018, Mayfield approached a pregnant Black woman sitting on a bus bench in Fullerton and hurled racial epithets at her. The defendant clenched his hands and repeatedly threatened to “drop” the victim’s unborn child. Jane Doe was scared for her safety and pepper-sprayed Mayfield. The defendant stole the victim’s backpack and went away.
Jane Doe notified the Fullerton Police Department (FPD), which investigated the issue but was originally unable to find Mayfield. Mayfield approached the victim again, intimidated her, and shouted racist slurs. The defendant chased Jane Doe into a nearby café, where she remained until the FPD apprehended and arrested Mayfield. The defendant has several tattoos of emblems linked with white supremacy.
Jane Doe requested a longer sentence in a victim impact statement submitted to the court under Marsy’s Law. She is concerned for her and her children’s safety if Mayfield is able to discover them and carry out 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
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On September 4, 2017, Mayfield approached John Doe in Fullerton’s commercial parking lot. The defendant became irritated because the victim did not have a lighter to borrow. Mayfield used a racial insult at John Doe, who is Filipino and Turkish, and punched him many times. A nearby witness dialed 911 to report the incident. FPD officers arrived on the scene and arrested the defendant.
On October 19, 2017, Mayfield was convicted of one misdemeanor count of hate crime assault causing harm. As part of his court-offered plea, the charge was lowered from a felony to a misdemeanor, and any prior strike conviction enhancements were dropped. Mayfield was sentenced to one year in the county jail. Mayfield was on parole when he committed the crime.
Other Racially Motivated Conviction
Mayfield was sentenced to nine years in state prison for a 2005 mayhem conviction in which he shouted racist remarks at a woman and her partner while pumping gas after they refused to give him change. Mayfield screamed racial epithets at the male victim as he repeatedly hit him in the face, resulting in a laceration in his mouth that required eight stitches.
Mayfield is due to be sentenced for his most recent crime on August 29, 2025, at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana, Department C35.
Gerard Gully, Deputy District Attorney for Special Prosecutions, is prosecuting this case.