Antelope Valley Human Relations Commission

This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press
Friday, July 31, 2009.

By DAISY RATZLAFF
Valley Press Staff Writers

PALMDALE – Racial and ethnic slugs, profanity and the phrase “white pride” were spray-painted in black letters on doors, walls and windows at Wildflower Elementary School in an apparent hate crime, sheriff’s officials said.

Graffiti was found on 90% of the walls of the school’s main building and of classroom bungalows when custodians arrived early Thursday at the campus on 35th Street East north of Avenue R, sheriff’s deputies said.

“I first saw the graffiti on the doors and then I saw the rest,” said custodian Roger Brown, who added he found the damage hard to believe. “I was like, ‘Holy moly.’ ”

Added Jesse Brunell, who works with Brown: “We are just blessed that they didn’t get the front of the school. I guess we can be thankful for that.”

Deputies believe the vandals entered the campus, which is closed for summer vacation, either from a dirt field off Avenue R or off 35th Street East overnight. Based on the lettering, deputies said they believe the vandalism was the work of more than one person.

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Tags: Graffiti, Hate, Vandalism by admin
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This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press
Tuesday, July 29, 2008.

By DAISY RATZLAFF
Valley Press Staff Writer

LANCASTER – A Lancaster man’s pickup truck was vandalized twice over the weekend in an apparent hate crime that caused an estimated $9,000 worth of damage, officials said.

Obscenities and a racial slur were scratched and marked Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon on the front, back and sides of a 2007 pickup truck parked in a westside home driveway.

“The first incident was done early Saturday morning. They came and scratched my truck so bad it created $6,000 worth of damage,” said the man, a retiree, who asked not to be identified.

“And then they came back on Sunday in broad daylight and did another $3,000 worth of damage by scratching more words into the side of my truck. It is so bad that it got to the metal part of the truck.”

The Lancaster man, who has lived in the Antelope Valley since 1981, said he had never experienced such a crime that hit so close to home.

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Tags: Graffiti, Hate, Vandalism by admin
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CLEANING UP – Contract worker Carmen Lopez paints over graffiti Tuesday on one of two houses on Armfield Avenue off of Rancho Vista Boulevard (Avenue P) in Palmdale. Sheriff’s officials are classifying the vandalism as a hate crime due to the racial content of the graffiti. EVELYN KRISTO/Valley Press

This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press
Wednesday, July 9, 2008.

By DAISY RATZLAFF
Valley Press Staff Writer

PALMDALE – Two westside homes were vandalized with graffiti overnight Monday in an apparent hate crime, sheriff’s officials said Tuesday.

Words of hate and racial slurs covered the front walls of the two vacant homes on Armfield Avenue off of Rancho Vista Boulevard (Avenue P), across from the Antelope Valley Mall.

One of the homes had recently been vacated, neighbor Prista Wood said.

“We had someone live in the orange house. He was black and she was Iranian, but you never saw them. And the people that rented it after them were black. They moved out a couple months ago,” Wood said. “And the other people in the other (vacant) home just moved out last Sunday, but they were white.”

The two homes are separated by a third house, authorities aid.

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HATE CRIME? – The windows in the back of Debbie Phillips’ Lancaster home show the graffiti left by an unknown person Wednesday night. Phillips said she notified the AV Human Relations Commission and the American Civil Liberties Union about the incident, but because the graffiti didn’t directly mention religion, Commission President Darren Parker said he doesn’t know if the incident can be categorized as a hate crime. EVELYN KRISTO/Valley Press

Woman protested City Hall posting ‘In God We Trust’

This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press
Friday, May 30, 2008.

By VERONICA ROCHA
Valley Press Staff Writer

LANCASTER – A Lancaster woman’s home was vandalized overnight Wednesday with “In God We Trust or ?” painted across her windows in what she believes is retaliation for speaking out against placing a similar phrase in City Council chambers.

Debbie Phillips said she spotted the bold, black lettering on two windows and a sliding glass door – marked by someone who entered her fenced backyard – after she woke up Thursday morning.

“I feel like somebody came in my home and invaded my space,” Phillips said.

Phillips said she notified the Antelope Valley Human Relations Commission, which investigates hate crimes, and the American Civil Liberties Union about the incident.

“I want this to be noted in the crime rate as a hate crime,” she said.

Commission President Darren Parker said the group is investigating whether Thursday’s vandalism qualified as a hate crime.

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Tags: Darren Parker, Graffiti, Religion, Task Force, Vandalism by admin
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