Quincy resident who used his car to twice ram a Vietnamese man and push him into a ditch while yelling at him to go back to China only gets 18 months because he's old and remorseful

A federal judge today sentenced John Sullivan, 78, to 18 months in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to attacking a man of Vietnamese origin he didn't know with both his mouth and his car, screaming at both the man and his family he would kill them all and that they should go back to China before hitting the accelerator and ramming the man twice outside a Quincy post office. Or as prosecutors put it:

Sullivan started driving and hit G.N. [the victim], forcing G.N. onto the hood of Sullivan's car. Sullivan drove about 200 feet down the street with G.N. on the hood of his car, keeping pace with traffic. G.N. was holding on to the hood and windshield wipers while screaming for help. Sullivan then slammed on his breaks, stopping abruptly, and G.N. fell off the hood. G.N. slapped the hood of Sullivan's vehicle in apparent anger while trying to regain his balance. Sullivan admitted that he then accelerated and drove his vehicle into G.N. a second time, causing him to fall face first into a 10-foot-deep construction ditch. A construction worker on the scene heard Sullivan say, "go back to China!" as Sullivan slammed his car door shut. Sullivan drove away and was arrested two miles from where he had hit G.N. the second time.

The attack began as the victim's brother-in-law was waiting by his car for the victim, his wife - the victim's sister - and their three children, all under 12, to come out of the post office on Dec. 2, 2022. Sullivan pulled his car behind, honked at the brother-in-law, cursed him, and yelled at him to "Go back to China!" a scream he repeated when G.N. and the other family members came out of the post office, after which he then pointed his finger at each one of them and vowed to kill them - except for the youngest child, whom he said he would let live, according to a sentencing recommendation by prosecutors. Sullivan did not know any of them.

Sullivan pleaded guilty April 3 to a charge of violating the federal hate-crimes act by willfully causing bodily injury to a victim through the use of a dangerous weapon because of his actual and perceived race and national origin.

Prosecutors recommended that US District Court Judge Denise Casper sentence Sullivan to 24 months - lower than the 37-46 months federal sentencing guidelines called for based on the nature of the crime. Prosecutors explained:

If the defendant were not a senior citizen and did not suffer from physical infirmities, the government would be recommending a sentence within the relevant guidelines.

Sullivan's lawyers, though, called for a sentence with no prison time at all, but instead just six months of home confinement:

There are bad people who do bad things and good people that do a bad thing. Jack Sullivan is a good person who made a bad decision on the date of this offense.

Why, they wrote, here is a man who once helped a complete stranger change a tire. A loyal Elk, he was devoted to charity work, such as distributing Thanksgiving turkeys to the needy. Even as a lad, the fifth of fifteen brothers, he helped rear his siblings. And:

Jack was a hard worker from a young age. He worked shining shoes, shoveling snow and collecting metal to obtain money at a young age

Later, with three children of their own, he proved a devoted father, who would attend their birthdays, spots matches and graduations, and later helped his son with countless hours doing home improvements on his house.

Jack’s life is best characterized by dedication to his family and friends, kindness and a pattern of charity.

And in 78 years, he had never been convicted of anything, they continued. And now, in his golden years, he has had six surgeries since 2014 and is currently in remission from colon cancer and suffering from wet macular degeneration, an eye problem that could cause him to go blind.

Mr. Sullivan takes full responsibility for his conduct in this case. He is embarrassed by his conduct and wears the shame associated with his conduct. Mr. Sullivan recognizes there is no place in this world for any type of hate-based conduct, especially when the conduct occurs based on a person’s perceived ethnicity. Though his conduct on the date of this offense based on the race and national origin of the victim, there is nothing in his background suggesting this is a pattern of conduct. Instead, a fair read of his conduct is that it was an isolated incident, aberrant behavior. ...

A sentence of 6-months of home confinement is 'sufficient, but not greater than necessary' to recognize the seriousness of the offense. Further, a sentence of 6 months home confinement will serve to punish Mr. Sullivan for his conduct. Given his advanced age and his medical issues, the sentence promotes respect for the law and is a just punishment for the crimes committed in this case.

Casper reserved judgment for later on how much, if anything, Sullivan should pay the victim in restitution.