The NYPD said Monday afternoon that two men suspected of defacing Brooklyn homes with anti-Semitic drawings have been arrested.
Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea took to Twitter to announce the arrests and thank the Hate Crimes Task Force for their efforts. “Thank you #Hatecrimestaskforce @NYCPDDEA for your efforts and proving once again there is no place for hate anywhere in #NYC as you will be caught @NYPDNews,” wrote Shea.
CBS 2 reports:
Authorities say 18-year-old Jarrick Wiltshire and 17-year-old Daul Moultrie are the same teens captured on surveillance cameras in Brooklyn Heights on Oct. 30.
Wiltshire and Moultrie are accused of drawing several swastikas on garage doors and residential homes between Joralemon and State Streets.
The two men have each been charged with three counts of aggravated harassment for the alleged hate crime.
On Wednesday, several swastikas were found drawn on a black garage door on Garden Place CNBC producer Sandy Maltzman tweeted a picture of the vandalism, writing: “Today was the day I woke up to swastikas on my beautiful block in Brooklyn Heights. Praying they’re gone before all our children flood the street to celebrate Halloween tonight.”
The arrests come after James Polite, a former Democrat activist and intern for New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, was taken into police custody. The 26-year-old is accused of vandalizing Union Temple in Prospect Heights, writing “Die Jew rats, we are here!” and “Hilter” on the house of worship.
The NYPD is also probing a group of vandals filmed tossing a metal pipe through a window of a New York City synagogue on Saturday.
The NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force is looking into the vandalism, yet investigators believe the incident was likely a “simple case of criminal mischief,” according to The New York Daily News.