MADERA COUNTY – A total of six charges have been filed against two Oakhurst area female juveniles taken into custody for alleged vandalism earlier this week.
The charges, all Penal Code Section 594 Felony Vandalism violations, stem from actions taken against Oakhurst resident and YHS boys soccer coach Victor Salazar and his family on Sunday and Monday, Mar. 20 and 21.
“We looked at all possible charges and these are the charges that best fit the facts we currently know,” says Madera County District Attorney David Linn. “The charges were filed in Juvenile Court; however, my office may later make a determination to move the action to Madera Superior Court.”
Linn says he is hopeful these matters can be handled within the juvenile system so that it can function as designed and protect the minors’ records in the future.
“However, as we progress, if any other charges appear to be appropriate, we will ask the Court to try the juveniles as adults,” days Linn.
The accused juveniles allegedly vandalized two vehicles by smearing paint, mustard, and feces on them as well as writing things including “faggot,” “go back to Mexico” and “cut my grass better.”
The vehicles that were vandalized were parked at the Salazar home on Pierce Drive in Oakhurst, and neighbors alerted the family just after 12:30 a.m. on Monday when they heard dogs barking and saw the perpetrators running away. Victor Salazar’s Volkwagen Jetta had been dented in several places and hateful messages were painted all over the vehicle. His father’s pickup had been vandalized earlier in the day.
The ongoing investigation revealed that initial media coverage of the incident may have scared the suspects into contacting the victim to try to apologize for their actions in the hope that they wouldn’t get in trouble.
A detention hearing for the two juveniles, who have been held in Juvenile Hall since their arrest, has been scheduled for Friday, Mar. 25, at 8:15 a.m., in Department 45 of the Madera Superior Court.
https://sierranewsonline.com/arrests-made-in-racially-motivated-vandalism-in-oakhurst/
https://sierranewsonline.com/yhs-coach-victim-of-a-hate-crime/
