Plano Police Arrest Woman After Racist Video Emerges of Her Hitting and Threatening to Shoot Women

A Plano woman could be looking at hate crime charges following a confrontation on Wednesday in which she hurled her fists, racist insults and even threats of violence at four women who captured the tirade on several videos.

Plano Police confirmed the arrest of Esmeralda Upton of Plano on Thursday. She faces two misdemeanor charges of assault causing bodily injury and terroristic threats, according to a Plano PD press release.

Upton's behavior is also being investigated by the Plano PD's Crime Against Persons Unit "as a hate crime" that could bring additional charges. She's sitting in a Plano jail cell on a $10,000 bond, according to the statement.
The four women who were on the receiving end of Upton's racial epithets and violent behavior weren't the only witnesses. Videos of Upton's tirade and assault were caught on several cellphones and uploaded to Facebook, where they've been shared and seen across several online channels.

"We don't want you here!" Upton shouts at the four women in a Facebook video. "We don't want you here! If things are so great in your country, then stay there."

Upton approached four women in the middle of a personal conversation in the parking lot of the Sixty Vines restaurant on Dallas Parkway in West Plano sometime before 8:15 p.m. on Wednesday, according to Plano PD records.

Upton began shouting several racist names at the women, such as "curry-ass bitches." The women began to film the incident with their smartphones, and one called 911 and talked to a police dispatcher. Upton approached the woman who called police a second time and started swinging her hands at her face.

In a video, one of the other unidentified women yells at Upton about the assault. Upton responds by shouting, "I am not hitting her friend!"

"Oh, these fucking Indians," Upton says. "They come to America because they want a better life, but they're obviously not living a great life in India."

Another woman asks Upton why she approached her friends unprovoked, and Upton shouts back, "Because I hate you fucking Indians!"

In a separate video, Upton continues to threaten one of the women in the restaurant's parking lot. She charges toward her while she's being filmed and then reaches into her handbag.

"You better turn that goddamn phone off," Upton says, "or I swear to God, I'll shoot your goddamn ass."

Police arrive on the scene in just under five minutes based on the events of one of the videos. Upton approaches the police vehicle as the officer steps out and tells Upton and the four women to back away from each other and the vehicle.

Upton faces two misdemeanor charges: a Class A charge for the assault and a Class B for the terroristic threat. According to the Texas Penal Code, she could face up to one year in jail and a maximum fine of $4,000 for the Class A charge, and a jail term not to exceed 180 days and a maximum fine of $2,000 for the Class B charge upon sentencing. Upton could also face possible felony charges depending on the outcome of Plano PD's Crime Against Persons Unit.