Assault suspect, a transient, is charged with hate crime

A Costa Mesa transient has been charged with a hate crime and is being held on $1-million bail after allegedly calling a black teenager racial slurs outside a local CVS Pharmacy and threatening him with a knife.

Ronald Allen Bramlett, 65, a white transient who lists his address as Share Our Selves in Costa Mesa, was charged with felony aggravated assault, criminal threats and an enhancement of an alleged hate crime for a confrontation police said he had with teenagers Tuesday.

According to prosecutors, Bramlett told teenagers hanging out outside the pharmacy that he was part of a well-known white supremacist gang.

He called one of the teenagers, who was black, “boy” and a “dirty [expletive],” authorities said.

Bramlett told the teenager he didn’t have the right to look at him because he has blond hair and blue eyes.

The Orange County Superior Court website lists Bramlett’s hair as gray.

Police said Bramlett challenged the teenager to a fight and made “aggressive movements” toward him with a knife.

Bramlett appeared in court Thursday and delayed his arraignment until Jan. 22. He is being held on $1-million bail due to a 1994 federal bank robbery conviction in Oregon and a 2001 petty theft conviction.

He faces up to 18 years and eight months in prison if convicted.

— Joseph Serna