Antisemitic graffiti leads to hate crime charges

Months after antisemitic graffiti was discovered on fences along Merrick Avenue and on the sidewalks in front of the East Meadow Beth-El Jewish Center, an East Meadow man is now being charged with multiple hate crimes, authorities said.

The suspect, identified as Sebastian Patino Caceres, 23, was arraigned before Judge Colin O’Donnell in Mineola on July 16, on charges of third-degree criminal mischief as a hate crime; six counts of fourth-degree criminal mischief as a hate crime; third-degree criminal mischief; six counts of fourth-degree criminal mischief; seven counts of making graffiti; and possession of graffiti instruments.

Patino Caceres pleaded not guilty and was released to pretrial services with electronic monitoring, according to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.

In New York state, pretrial services provide a range of support and supervision to individuals awaiting trial to ensure they return to court and comply with any conditions set by the judge.

Sometime between April 14 and 15, Patino Caceres allegedly spray-painted several antisemitic phrases on PVC fencing on the rear yards of private properties along Merrick Avenue, authorities said.

The graffiti, found on the morning of April 15, included phrases like “Zionism is Nazism” and “F-ck Israel.” The phrases were discovered on plastic sheeting affixed to the fencing protecting a mural of Israeli citizens who were taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.

Debbie Habshoosh, whose yard backs up to Merrick Avenue, began displaying the photos of the hostages along her fence line last fall. Her husband is Israeli, she told the Herald, and in the six months the flyers had been posted, they hadn’t been touched.

Additional portions of the fence line, where no murals had been hung, were also defaced.

Patino Caceres also allegedly spray-painted “Free Palestine” across the front cement of the East Meadow Beth-El Jewish Center, at 1400 Prospect Ave., officials said.

The incident sparked a wave of concern in the East Meadow community, and hours after the graffiti was discovered, an emergency news conference was held by Town of Hempstead officials in front of the fence line. Town Supervisor Don Clavin called the graffiti “a brazen attack on our friends of the Jewish faith.”

Clavin was joined by several members of the town board, religious leaders, County Legislator Tom McKevitt and District Attorney Anne Donnelly, as well as dozens of concerned residents.

At the April 15 conference, Donnelly said the incident could be categorized as a hate crime, which means it was motivated by bias. She said her office has seen an increase in hate crimes across the county, and was aggressively prosecuting those responsible.

The neighborhood where the graffiti was discovered has a large Jewish community, McKevitt said, leading him to believe “the location of this hateful act was not chosen by accident.”

Rabbi Aaron Marsh of the East Meadow Beth-El Jewish Center called the incident “an act of intimidation.”

At the end of the news conference, the Town of Hempstead’s Quality of Life Task Force, which removes graffiti, promptly cleaned the spray paint from the fences.

After an investigation, Nassau County Police Department detectives arrested Patino Caceres on April 16. Surveillance camera footage from a nearby parking lot helped police make the arrest.

The suspect was initially charged with seven counts of criminal mischief, possession of graffiti instruments and seven counts of making graffiti, but those charges have since been upgraded to hate crimes.

“This is not just graffiti — it is an act of hate,” Donnelly said last week. “One that is meant to instill fear in our Jewish communities. But Nassau County refuses to live in fear. My office has no tolerance for these offensive criminal actions that target entire communities and their security.”

The case against Patino Caceres is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney James Taglienti of the County Court Trial Bureau, under the supervision of Bureau Chief Ali Ajamu and the overall supervision of Kevin Higgins, executive assistant district attorney for the litigation division. Attorney James Lynch is representing Patino Caceres.

Patino Caceres is due back in court on Sept. 13. If convicted, he faces up to seven years in prison, officials said.