Officers arrested a man suspected of spray painting three Westside Jewish schools and several vehicles in what police have described as a hate crime.
Israel Herrera Perez, 44, was taken into custody Thursday on suspicion of vandalizing the schools and cars in the neighborhoods of Beverlywood, Calabasas, Pico-Robertson, Brentwood, Bel-Air and Westwood, the Los Angeles Police Department announced Friday.
The schools targeted are located in the 15000 block of Mulholland Drive, and all the acts of vandalism were committed between last Saturday and Monday, according to police.
Some Calabasas residents awoke Tuesday morning to find their cars with slashed tires and plastered with symbols and letters scribbled in red spray paint as well as the numbers “666” and “999.” Among the more than 17 vandalized vehicles were Jaguars, Mercedes, Jeeps and Audis — some of which were at a car dealership at the time.
“It makes me extremely angry,” Calabasas Mayor Alicia Weintraub said earlier this week. “We are doing everything we can to support the sheriff’s efforts and we hope that the people that engaged in this horrific activity are apprehended soon.”
Surveillance video released by police on Wednesday shows a man in a red hoodie driving a dark-colored sedan. Perez was arrested the following day at 1:30 p.m. and is being held on $120,000 bail, according to inmate records.
No other suspects have been identified as police continue to investigate.
