Photo Courtesy of Google
Bahamonde allegedly painted swastikas on green construction-site fencing on 54th Avenue and on 90th Street in Elmhurst.
By Forum Staff
An Elmhurst man has been charged with defacing several locations in his own neighborhood with swastikas and other graffiti last month, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Sunday.
Kristoffer Bahamonde, 41, was arraigned Saturday on a complaint charging him with criminal mischief in the fourth degree as a hate crime, aggravated harassment in the first degree, making graffiti, and possession of graffiti instruments.
Katz said that between May 30 and May 31, Bahamonde is accused of using red spray paint to tag three locations with swastikas and other graffiti:
A green temporary fence surrounding a construction site on 54th Avenue was defaced with two swastikas in red alongside the numbers “110.”
Just down the block, on 90th Street, another green temporary fence at a work site was tagged in red with two swastikas and the numbers “110” – also in red.
File Photo
DA Katz said, “This defendant’s alleged actions do not reflect our values or who we are.”
The owner of a grocery store on Broadway, just off Queens Boulevard, in Elmhurst was also victimized with two swastikas and this time the numbers “110” was followed with the phrase “today I will never do time” painted in red on the side of the building.
According to the charges, Bahamonde was caught on surveillance video carrying a can of spray paint at one of the locations and spray painting a swastika at another.
Katz said that Bahamonde “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.”
If convicted, Bahamonde faces 1 1/3 to 4 years in prison.
