The Charles County Sheriff’s Office has charged a 15-year-old Waldorf boy with two counts of a hate crime for an incident that occurred on Sept. 9 in the 3600 block of Mountain Ash Court in Waldorf.
The boy was also charged with three counts of malicious destruction of property valued at more than $500 and one count of malicious destruction of property valued at less than $500. Sometime between 1 a.m. and 9 a.m., the accused spray painted two residences and a vehicle with racial graffiti. “KKK” was spray painted with white paint and officers investigating the crime recovered a can of white spray paint near the scene. The forensic science unit analyzed the can for fingerprints, which led to the identification of the suspect.
In addition to the damage on Mountain Ash Court, the suspect damaged two other vehicles nearby in the 3500 block of Palmetto Court and the 3600 block of Lightner Court. A window on the vehicle on Palmetto Court was shattered and the vehicle was spray painted on all sides with the white spray paint. No racially-offensive words, phrases or symbols were spray painted on the vehicle. The windshield of the vehicle on Lightner Court was cracked.
A series of disturbing hate crimes began in August but investigators believe the Mountain Ash Court incident is isolated. The Sheriff’s Office and Charles County Crime Solvers continues to seek information from the public regarding the other hate crimes. Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Solvers, which is offering a reward of up to $1,000, at 1-866-411-TIPS. All callers may remain anonymous.
“Hate crimes are extremely offensive and affect more than just the victims whose property was damaged,” said Sheriff Frederick E. Davis. “We are working very hard to identify everyone who is responsible for hate crimes in our community and hold them accountable for their actions. While we still have work to do, we hope this first arrest will send a clear message that the Sheriff’s Office and our community will not tolerate hate crimes.”