Cassius Hope Survives Racially Motivated Attack as Assailant Pleads Guilty to Attempted Murder
On the evening of December 10, 2023, Cassius Hope was preparing to settle into his bed at the men’s homeless shelter in Carlsbad, California, where he stayed. With a 3 o’clock start time looming for his first job the following day, rest was crucial. However, finding sleep was difficult amidst the dormitory’s 50 filled beds. To relax, he often watched television on his cell phone.
That night, amidst the usual activity in the dorm, a disturbance arose. Returning just before curfew, two residents, Jeremy Willis and Scott Williams, were loudly discussing the events of their day. When another guest confronted them about their noise, Jeremy responded by directing a racial slur at the person and then proceeded to assault them physically.
It is important to note that Cassius and the anonymous second victim from this incident are both black men who are homeless in San Diego County and the two men who created a disturbance returning to the shelter that evening are white. While 7% of Californians are black, Black Californians are overrepresented in the homeless population at 26%.
In San Diego County, where Cassius is homeless, 16% of the unsheltered homeless population and 23% of the sheltered homeless population is black. It is evident that the ongoing impacts of racism have pushed people of color into homelessness at disproportionate rates and made it harder to escape.
Violently Attacked as Shelter Residents Did Nothing
On this particular evening at the shelter, one staff person had called out, leaving only one staff member to provide safety and services to the La Posada site, which has a capacity for up to 100 men. Reportedly, that staff person was talking on his cell phone outside the dormitory when Cassius was the next victim to be physically and verbally attacked by Jeremy inside.
Cassius recalls the fight beginning with Jeremy and Scott calling him racial slurs and then Jeremy punching him while still in his bed. He fought back, which is when Jeremy pulled out a knife from his waistband. Scott physically prevented one shelter guest from leaving to notify the staff person and threatened him.
When I asked how many times he was stabbed, Cassius replied, “I lost count after 15.” He described the stabbing as being quick, jabbing motions that cut him deep and were often repeated in the same location.
Cassius was stabbed in his ribs, his back, his face, and his abdomen, and he also had defensive wounds on his arm and hand where he attempted to stop Jeremy from stabbing him. He required a chest tube and emergency surgery after the hate-fueled attack.
Cassius recalls, “Getting stabbed is one thing; having 50 guys stand around and watch is another.”
He then described laying on the ground outside the shelter and hearing his would-be-murderer feigning ignorance and concern, asking the staff person what happened and if Cassius was OK. Reportedly, the second defendant, Scott, told police that he had witnessed Cassius stabbing himself.
Alleged ‘Safe’ Shelter Fails to Protect
The La Posada de Guadalupe shelter had been described to Cassius as the “safest” shelter in the area by the service provider who made the referral. He spent several months recovering in a local Recuperative Care program where he was allowed to stay in a single room, only due to the recent medical and emotional trauma he had experienced.
The Medi-Cal initiative CalAIM provides insurance payment to service organizations to provide this very limited yet extremely beneficial type of care after hospitalization. Once his time was up in his recuperative care bed, he returned to the streets.
When I asked Cassius where he would go next, he replied, “I don’t want to live in a communal space again. There aren’t any safe shelters.”
On May 30, 2024, San Diego District Attorney Summer Stephan announced that Jeremy Willis had been sentenced to 9 years for the violent attack on Cassius Hope. The second defendant, Scott Williams, was sentenced to 16 months for intimidating a witness.
Although he had been violently stabbed numerous times, Cassius survived thanks to the quick placement of chest tubes by paramedics and emergency surgery at the hospital. He doesn’t know how he survived.
Shelter Assault Leads to Barriers to Housing
After being matched with a housing intervention, Rapid Rehousing, Cassius remains unable to return to his two jobs due to his doctor’s restrictions, leaving him without income. Despite a recent extension of his disabled status for three months during his last doctor’s visit and a scheduled follow-up appointment, uncertainty about his return to work and limited state disability payments have prevented landlords from leasing him an apartment. As a result, after five months in the Rapid Rehousing program, Cassius finds himself back living on the streets.
Between January 2016 and April 2024, San Diego County saw a significant number of hate crimes with Black victims and White perpetrators motivated by race and ethnicity, often without arrests. The Supreme Court decision on Johnson v. Grants Pass raises questions about its implications for people of color like Cassius.
If sleeping outdoors is criminalized, will the same law enforcement officers who arrested Jeremy Willis for attempted murder now arrest Cassius for homelessness?
