New York Man Pleads Guilty To Hate Crime For Stabbing 59-Year-Old Jamaican Woman

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jamie McDonald, and Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"), James C. Barnacle, Jr., announced that SCOTT SCHUNZEL pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Vincent Briccetti to committing a hate crime in connection with the stabbing of a Newburgh resident on June 18, 2024.

"Racially motivated violence has no place in our community," said U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald. "Our collective strength comes from a mutual respect for others and for the law. This Office is dedicated to seeking justice for victims of hate-based crimes and will never cease to pursue and prosecute those who act on their bigotry with violence. 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."

"This guilty plea recognizes both the harm inflicted on the victim-who survived a terrifying, hate-fueled attack-and the importance of holding perpetrators of bias-motivated violence fully accountable," said FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle, Jr. "There is simply no tolerance for hate-fueled violence anywhere in New York."

According to the Indictment, public filings, the plea agreement, and statements made in court:

On or about June 18, 2024, at approximately 10:30 a.m., SCOTT SCHUNZEL stabbed a black female victim (the "Victim") with a knife because of her actual and perceived race and color while the Victim was standing next to a parked fruit truck. The Victim sustained a deep wound to her left hamstring and was transported via ambulance to a nearby hospital where she received stitches for her injury. Shortly after the assault, law enforcement searched SCHUNZEL's residence and found writing and materials indicating his animus against Black people, including statements relating to killing and stabbing Black women. On or about the following day, June 19, 2024, SCHUNZEL fled to Florida. SCHUNZEL was thereafter arrested by FBI officers from the Miami field office.

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SCHUNZEL, 33, of New York, pled guilty to one count of committing a hate crime, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

Mr. McDonald praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI offices in New York and Miami, the FBI Hudson Valley White Collar Crime Task Force, the Newburgh Police Department, and the Town of Poughkeepsie Police Department. Mr. McDonald also thanked the Dutchess County District Attorney's Office for its assistance.

The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office's Civil Rights and Human Trafficking Unit in the Criminal Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaiya Arroyo is in charge of the prosecution.