DA: Man facing hate crime charges for attack on mom, child at Fremont McDonald's

FREMONT, Calif. -- A man who allegedly attacked a woman and her child in a Fremont McDonald's earlier this month is facing a hate crime charge, Alameda County District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson said Wednesday.

Marcus Harper, 22, is also facing a misdemeanor assault charge and if convicted could spend up to a year in county jail, Dickson said.

Harper is alleged to have taken food from their table and eating it in front of them.

Investigators say the suspect walked away but came back and slapped the woman in the face.

He then made a comment about her race, yelled at her and the children, and threw a packet of dipping sauce at one of the kids.

The woman and her child was described by Dickson's office as Asian Indian.

"This act of hate based upon the perceived national origin of these victims is completely unacceptable," Dickson said in a news release Wednesday. "The message needs to be clear that such behavior will not be tolerated, and those who commit hate crimes will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

Harper is being held at Santa Rita Jail on $110,000 bail and is scheduled for arraignment Thursday at 8:30 a.m. at the East County Hall of Justice in Dublin.