Gotcha, sucka! In San Francisco, a suspect has been arrested in connection with the string of racist graffiti that recently appeared in the Portola neighborhood. Residents discovered several areas that were hit with the message "NO MORE CHINESE" over the weekend (and perhaps earlier).
62-year-old San Francisco resident John Schenone is charged with five counts of felony hate crime and five counts of felony vandalism. According to SFPD, officers matched Schenone and his vehicle to the description of the suspect from the crime alert. He was arrested on Tuesday night and booked at the County Jail.
Here's the news release from the San Francisco Police Department:
SFPD Arrest Vandalism/ Hate Crime Suspect
On the morning of September 7, 2015, graffiti was observed at six different locations throughout the Portola neighborhood in the Bayview District. The words “NO MORE CHINESE” were sprayed in orange paint at the following 6 locations: Palega Park, Somerset Street/Silver Avenue at a vacant grocery store, University Street/Bacon Street on the fence of a vacant lot, 100 Block of Brussels Street on a house under construction, 100 Block of Brussels Street on a house for sale, and the 1300 Block of Silver on an office building. This incident was immediately determined to be hate motivated and investigated by SFPD’s Special Investigations Division Hate Crime Unit. SID investigators were immediately able to identify a vehicle and person of interest. A crime alert was subsequently distributed throughout the department in an effort to identify the suspect in these incidents.
On September 8, 2015, Bayview Station officers were on the 1200 block of Bayshore Blvd. when they observed an individual and vehicle matching the description from the crime alert. The individual was detained and transported to Bayview Station for further investigation. Based on evidence gathered, investigators arrested John Schenone as the person responsible for the above incidents. Schenone, 62 years old, San Francisco resident, was arrested booked at County Jail for 5 counts of 422.6(b)(c) PC – felony Hate Crime, and 5 counts of 594(b)(1) PC – felony Vandalism. Schenone’s booking photo is attached.
The San Francisco Police Department would like the thank the public for their assistance in this investigation. Although an arrest has been made, anyone with additional information or video is encouraged to contact the Special Investigations Division Hate Crime Unit at (415) 553-1133, the SFPD Anonymous Tip Line at (415) 575-4444, or Text A Tip to TIP411 and include “SFPD” at the beginning of the message
District 3 Supervisor Julie Christensen first shared news of the arrest via social media on Wednesday:
Fantastic news! Thanks to the diligent and swift actions of our City staff, a suspect has been arrested for the... http://t.co/0LslmAYt3e
— Julie Christensen (@SupeChristensen) September 9, 2015Chinese hate crime graffiti suspect arrested yesterday and charged with five counts of felony hate crime and five counts of felony vandalism @kron4news
Posted by KRON 4 Dan Kerman on Wednesday, September 9, 2015
More here: San Francisco police announce arrest in anti-Chinese graffiti case