Jasmine Rast says she had just arrived at her family’s Japantown coffee shop around 5:30 a.m. Tuesday when she spotted a man riding an e-bike through the driveway behind the building. What followed, she says, was a violent confrontation that left her bloodied, caught on surveillance video, and reignited her family’s calls for stronger accountability from the city.
Rast, co-owner of Roy’s Station Coffee and Tea, told NBC Bay Area she confronted the man because the business has had repeated problems with vandalism behind the property. She said she told him the driveway was private property. According to her account, the man then ran at her, caught up after she tried to flee, and repeatedly hit her with a metal torch, with the first blow landing on the back of her head.
Screams Brought Family Running
Rast’s screams brought her brother and father running to the scene, and the family called police, the station’s report states. The attack was captured on surveillance video. Authorities said the suspect was taken into custody and booked into jail, though further details about his identity or any charges have not been released.
Tamiko Rast, a family member involved with the business, said officers told her the man arrested Tuesday had actually been arrested and released ten days earlier — an account NBC Bay Area said it was unable to independently confirm. Tamiko Rast said police have otherwise been responsive to the family, but she wants to see stronger accountability going forward, describing the attack as part of a broader pattern rather than an isolated incident.
A Familiar Face at a Mayoral Press Event
The connection to City Hall runs deeper than a single case. More than a year before Tuesday’s attack, Tamiko Rast spoke at a news conference alongside Mayor Matt Mahan, who at the time was promoting an initiative that could require people living on the streets to accept shelter and services or potentially face charges. That policy, known as Responsibility to Shelter, later passed the San José City Council on a 9–2 vote, adding an expectation of accepting shelter to the city’s Code of Conduct for Encampments, according to KQED.
When the policy first rolled out in March, Mahan said people who refused shelter three times within an 18-month period could face a trespassing violation and arrest, per San José Spotlight. The outlet later reported that Mahan revised the approach so that each person’s situation would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Mayor Points to Proposition 36
Mayor Mahan’s office said he is in touch with the District Attorney’s Office about this case. Mahan said state and county leaders should fully implement Proposition 36 so that repeat offenders face consequences, including treatment or time behind bars, adding that repeat offenders cycling in and out of jail without meaningful intervention carries real human costs. Councilmember Anthony Tordillos’s office said Tordillos had spoken with the family and remains committed to working toward a safer District 3.
A Neighborhood With a Troubled History
Japantown has seen periods of elevated crime before. A 2021 report found the neighborhood had experienced an uptick in petty crime, including break-ins at roughly half a dozen businesses, according to The Mercury News, which also detailed how Jasmine Rast’s family discovered red graffiti on the Issei Pioneer Stone monument that February and worked to gather security footage for police. A separate report from that period, via San Jose Inside, found at least six vehicles stolen and at least 12 burglaries reported in Japantown that year, alongside a citywide increase in vehicle theft, burglary, aggravated assault and homicide compared to the prior year.
More recent citywide figures tell a different story. Reported violent crime across San Jose fell 15% in 2025 compared with 2024, while property crime dropped 7%, per San José Spotlight. The city recorded 4,963 violent crimes last year, down from a peak of 6,046 in 2023, and 26 homicides — matching 2024’s total and tying for the lowest level in at least a decade.
For the Rast family, those broader trends offer little comfort after Tuesday’s attack. Tamiko Rast’s push for stronger accountability echoes the demands she made at that earlier news conference alongside Mahan, even as the mayor’s office signals ongoing contact with prosecutors over this specific case.
