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June 11-June 17, 2021
Elmhurst man busted for hateful vandalism used same
tags found in Vietnam Veterans Memorial attack: DA
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
A Queens man booked for allegedly
going on a hateful graffiti spree
in his neighborhood last month used
symbols and tags similar to vandalism
found last week on the borough’s
Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Law enforcement sources said
Kristoffer Bahamonde, 41, of Justice
Avenue in Elmhurst was picked up
on June 3 for trashing two construction
sites and a grocery store in his
neighborhood between May 30-31 with
swastikas and the tag number 110 in
red paint.
However, Bahamonde has not yet
been charged in connection with
the June 2 vandalism incident at the
Queens Vietnam Veterans Memorial
in Elmhurst Park, where police and
local residents discovered similar red
swastikas and the number 110 — along
with other hateful messages targeting
the veterans themselves.
That incident drew outrage from
across the community, including
Queens District Attorney Melinda
Katz — who, during her tenure as borough
president, was instrumental in
moving the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
project forward — and Councilman
Robert Holden. Both Katz and
Holden condemned the attack, with
the council member offering a reward
for information leading to the vandal’s
capture.
According to Katz, Bahamonde
allegedly went on the hateful smear
streak between May 30-31, hitting a
green construction site fence on 54th
Avenue with two swastikas and the
number 110. He allegedly also did the
Councilman Robert Holden and Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz survey the damage at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in
Elmhurst Park. Photo courtesy of Holden’s offi ce
same to another construction fence
down the block on nearby 90th Street.
Katz said that Bahamonde also
painted two swastikas and the number
110 onto a grocery store on Broadway
near Queens Boulevard. Accompanying
that vandalism, law enforcement
sources said, was a boastful message:
“today I will never do time.”
But members of the NYPD Hate
Crimes Task Force were able to track
Bahamonde down through an investigation
in which he was allegedly
filmed on nearby security cameras
tagging two of the locations.
“The defendant allegedly used
symbols of hate to deface property
and intimidate members of our shared
community,” Katz said in a June 6
statement. “In Queens County, we
stand together against hatred directed
toward any group. This defendant’s alleged
actions do not reflect our values
or who we are.”
Bahamonde remains in custody on
$7,500 bail, according to court records.
Reach reporter Robert Pozarycki by
e-mail at rpozarycki@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718) 260-4549.
Vol. 9 No. 24 48 total pages
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