A convicted murderer has been detained in Ventura on suspicion of spray-painting swastikas all over the area and then publishing hate crimes on cultural advertising in an effort to stoke fear, according to authorities.
According to the Ventura Police Department, officials connected him to at least five accounts of spray-painted symbols and he was detained on Sunday and booked into the Ventura County Jail on fear of theft, a hate crime, and a curfew violation.
In an effort to make it seem as though Williams was apply painting symbols, taking pictures of them, and then posting them to social media, it became clear Williams was trying to make other people think they were committing hate acts and spreading concern, the department said in a statement.
Following pleading guilty to the violence in 2015, Williams was found guilty of forcible rape in 2019, according to court documents. According to Cmdr., the Police Department spokesperson said that at the moment of his most recent imprisonment, he was on parole for the murder faith. Sarah Heard confirmed.
According to court records, the suspected serial symbol spray artists has a history of offense violations. According to the state’s criminal logs, he was booked into the Ventura County Jail only 10 days before his most recent theft arrest, where he was on a parole carry.
A company in the 1000 wall of East Front Street near city Ventura contacted the section on Sunday night to report that someone had spray-painted a symbol on their home. According to police, officers reviewed security camera footage of the murder and found the suspect to be Williams.
Therefore they received four more enquiries about having symbols sprayed all over the city’s public and private property.
Officials noticed Williams riding an electric bike near Main and Ash roads as they were looking into the first theft. They claimed they conducted a search and discovered proof linking him to the acts.
According to the county’s inmate log, Williams is being held on$ 250, 000 bail and is scheduled to show up in court on Wednesday.
According to the adult logs, he was booked on four counts of felony theft, one count of misdemeanor theft, one count of misdemeanor love violence, one felony count of violating parole, and one misdemeanor count of possessing a stun gun with a prior criminal faith.
In recent years, there has been a significant rise in antisemitic hate crimes and vandalism in the United States.
The Anti-Defamation League reported more than 10,000 antisemitic incidents in the United States over the 12-month period that followed the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7, 2023, which is the highest number ever recorded and a 20 % increase over previous years. This included more than 1, 840 antisemitic vandalism incidents.
L. A. Anti-Jewish hate crimes increased by 91 % between 2022 and 2023, the most recent year for which data are available. From 124 to 242, the number of incidents reached an all-time high.
A Los Angeles man was accused of spray-painting swastikas on more than a dozen cars in 2023. In addition to Santa Monica, West Hollywood, San Dimas, Calabasas, and USC and UCLA campuses, there is graffiti that depicts a swastika.
___
© 2025 Los Angeles Times.
Tribune Content Agency, LLC distributed.
