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June 7, 2021 By Christina Santucci
A 41-year-old man was arraigned over the weekend on charges of spray painting swastikas and other graffiti on two construction sites and a grocery store in Elmhurst last month.
Elmhurst resident Kristoffer Bahamonde was hit with charges including criminal mischief as a hate crime and harassment for allegedly defacing several locations between May 30 and May 31, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.
“The defendant allegedly used symbols of hate to deface property and intimidate members of our shared community. In Queens County, we stand together against hatred directed toward any group. This defendant’s alleged actions do not reflect our values or who we are,” Katz said in a statement.
Bahamonde was arraigned Saturday in Queens Criminal Court before Judge Elisa Koenderman and held on $7,500 bond, court records showed Sunday.
He is scheduled to return to court Tuesday.
Bahamonde is accused of tagging two green fences around construction sites on 54th Avenue and 90th Street with swastikas and the numbers “110,” the DA said.
The 110 refers to the NYPD 110th Precinct, located in Elmhurst, police sources say.
He was also charged with spray painting two more swastikas, the numbers “110,” and the phrase “today I will never do time” on the side of a grocery store near Broadway and Queens Boulevard, officials said.
Authorities said Bahamonde was allegedly caught on surveillance video carrying a can of spray paint at one location and drawing a swastika at another.
Similar swastikas as well as lewd messages were discovered on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Elmhurst Wednesday. A spokesperson for the DA’s office said no one has been charged in connection to that graffiti and the investigation was still ongoing as of Sunday.
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3 Comments
The correct terminology is hakenkreuz and NOT swastika. Please correct your article. Using the word swastika is very harmful to the Hindu community, for whom the swastika is very sacred.
The swastika is an ancient symbol that has been used for over 3,000 years (predating even the ancient Egyptian symbol, the ankh). Artifacts such as pottery and coins from ancient Troy show that the swastika was a commonly used symbol as far back as 1000 BCE.
Maybe the guy is an avid reader of the world history books…
The police should see if their are any possible connections to the swastikas that recently descerated the Queens 9/11 memorial wall.