A teenager suspected of defacing several South Bay homes with antisemitic graffiti and hate symbols was jailed Tuesday on suspicion of a dozen criminal offenses.
Authorities booked the teen, 18, on suspicion of six counts each of vandalism and causing property damage motivated by civil-rights violations, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office.
The graffiti, apparently scrawled in ink with a black permanent marker, was discovered on homes on Seacoast Drive and Elm Avenue in Imperial Beach on Sept. 13, Lt. Chris Galve said in a news release.
Six days later, similar hate-oriented tags turned up in an alley behind a residence on Elm.
Surveillance video helped identify the suspect, according to sheriff’s officials. He was taken into custody at about 3 a.m. Tuesday on the access road where the most recent act of vandalism occurred.
At the time of his arrest, the suspect “was found in possession of a hand-held electronic device capable of interacting with and analyzing certain wireless signals, including those used by some garage doors, gates and other access systems,” according to Galve.
The Sheriff’s Criminal Intelligence Unit (CIU) assisted due to the hate‑crime aspect of the case. Officials also increased patrols in the impacted neighborhoods – one of those patrols first made contact with the suspect.
The suspect is set to appear in court Thursday.
