A Concord tattoo artist has been charged with criminal mischief Tuesday for the racist graffiti found on four Concord homes. Court documents reveal a detailed account of a Concord detective’s investigation into Raymond Stevens. Handwriting on a 2009 gun license application was the first piece of evidence.
Concord Police Chief John Duval praised the efforts of his department for closing a two-year-long investigation into the racist graffiti.
“This was a classic case of not leaving any rock unturned and we looked at every possible way to find out who would have written these messages.”
Three refugee homes in 2011 and another last year were targeted with racist comments written in black permanent marker.
In a nearly seven page affidavit, the lead investigator on the case, Detective Wade Brown, describes how he first got the idea to check gun license applications last year when he saw how they could be a plentiful source of handwriting samples. After sifting through hundreds of applications for the distinctive ‘b’s, ‘u’s, ‘s’s and ‘y’s, he caught a break with Stevens’ application from four years ago.
Steven’s Facebook page was filled with racist cartoons and, “diatribes which were clearly indicative of white supremacist ideology.”
Further interviews and searches unturned what authorities call “overwhelming evidence” of Stevens’ guilt along with his racist affiliations and similar acts of racially charged criminal mischief.
Finally, FBI analysts found the handwriting to be a certain match last June.
Stevens faces 2-5 years if convicted.
