Own Handwriting Snares Hate Crime Suspect

A New Hampshire man who allegedly scrawled racist graffiti on the homes of African refugees was busted after a hardworking detective went through hundreds of gun permits and other documents looking for a handwriting match. After the officer found striking similarities, including a distinctive "b," on one permit, an investigation led to the arrest of tattoo parlor owner Raymond Stevens, the AP reports. Police say the 42-year-old wrote messages including "The subhumans in this house are enjoying a free ride," "You are not welcome here," and "We cannot coexist with Third World scum" on the homes of four refugee families, leaving them in fear of a violent attack.

Investigators found that Stevens, who also sings in a thrash metal band, had posted racist material on Facebook and elsewhere describing himself as a "proud Aryan man," reports the Concord Monitor. He has been charged with felony criminal mischief, which usually carries a sentence of one to seven years but could get Stevens 10 to 30 years because of a state hate crime stature. Concord's chief of police, noting that small children lived in the targeted homes, called the crimes "truly despicable" and said the investigation was "a classic case of leaving no rock unturned." (More Raymond Stevens stories.)