Couple targeted in racist rant at San Ramon In-N-Out overwhelmed with public support

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SAN RAMON — A couple who were the target of racist and homophobic speech at the San Ramon In-N-Out they captured on cellphone video were overwhelmed Monday night by the widespread support they received and the prompt arrest of the alleged suspect in the case.

San Ramon Police Chief Denton Carlson said the suspect — Jordan Douglas Krah, 40, of Denver, Colorado — was arrested on suspicion of committing a hate crime. He was incarcerated at the Contra Costa County Jail in Martinez.

Arine Kim and Elliot Ha told KPIX that they were at the restaurant and trying some dishes from the secret menu when the man approached them and started making comments.

They posted the encounter on TikTok where it went viral and caught the attention of San Ramon police.

“Honestly, I’m very impressed with the support,” said Kim, from Moraga. “A lot of people originally said ‘why didn’t you call the police?'”

“At that time, and I think for us, especially for a lot of people of color, a lot of Asian Americans who are experiencing hate crimes, like I’ve been verbally abused in more than one occasion, not to the point that man has gone, but most of the time you don’t think anyone will ever take you seriously.”

“I was talking to the police earlier today,” Ha continued. “One thing they mentioned that kind of stuck with me was that nothing is too small to report, because they’d rather be happy to get the call and understand that it’s not. is really nothing, rather than having something.”

Kim said someone recognized the suspect at a target in San Ramon and called police, who arrested him shortly after Monday.

“I know it’s slightly unreasonable to ask everyone to just be happy, positive people, because that’s not the world we live in, but for him, I hope he finds the help he needs, and I hope he can find it in his heart to be able to make more positive changes in himself,” Kim added.

Prior to his arrest, police said they received complaints of similar behavior from what appears to be the same man.

Kim said she was contacted by another victim who had an altercation with the suspect on Christmas Day.

“She had taken a picture of him and a video of him and I was like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s the same guy,'” Kim said. “She’s Filipino, the Filipino in her family. He was hurling racial slurs at her and her family. He also started spitting on them in his car.”

Kim added that she was careful not to respond to the man aggressively.

“When he was out in the parking lot, I didn’t know if he was going to his car to get a gun, or get a gun, or get a knife,” Kim said. “In the world we live in, or in the country we live in, that’s something we unfortunately have to worry about.”

Kim and Ha said they were very grateful for the outpouring of support on social media and in person since their viral encounter. As they waited in line at the In-N-Out on Monday, another customer surprised them by paying for their meals.

Betty Yu

Betty Yu joined KPIX 5 in November 2013 as a generalist journalist. She spent two years at WTVJ, the NBC-owned station in Miami, as a reporter before moving to San Francisco.

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