Orange County man charged with hate crimes in attack against elderly Korean couple

Orange County prosecutors have charged a man with hate crimes in connection with an attack on an elderly Korean couple walking in a park last weekend.

Michael Orlando Vivona, 26, faces two felony counts of elder abuse, two felony counts of hate crime battery and two felony hate crime enhancements, the Orange County district attorney’s office said Wednesday.

Vivona has pleaded not guilty to all counts and faces a maximum sentence of nine years in state prison, according to the district attorney’s office. It was not immediately clear who was representing Vivona.

A 78-year-old and 79-year-old Korean couple were taking their nightly walk at Grijalva Park in the city of Orange on Sunday when Vivona ran up to them and punched the husband in the face and the wife in the head, prosecutors said, knocking them both to the ground.

Vivana is also being investigated in connection with a verbal attack against a Japanese American Olympic athlete in the same park April 1, prosecutors said.

In that incident, Sakura Kokumai, a karate champion expected to represent the United States in the 2021 Olympic Games, was warming up for a run when she saw a man police have identified as Vivona yelling at and threatening her.

Kokumai posted videos of the event to her Instagram account, and passersby at the park Sunday recognized Vivona, Orange police spokesman Phil McMullin said. After several people surrounded Vivona and called the police, an officer arrested him.

Times staff writer Faith Pinho contributed to this report.