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Florida homeless man to be charged for scratching swastikas
Jailed man admits to etching anti-Semitic symbol on cars in Jewish neighborhood in Miami Beach
An incarcerated homeless man will be charged with criminal mischief for allegedly scratching swastikas into several cars in a Jewish neighborhood in Miami Beach.
The swastikas were found on the cars on February 26, including one owned by a non-Jewish family.
Timothy Merriam, 61, is already in jail on charges of using scissors to slash the tires of more than 100 rental bikes on Miami Beach owned by the city’s public bike share program. While in prison, he made statements that led detectives to believe that he had also scratched the swastikas into the cars, the Miami Herald reported, citing the Miami Beach police.
Police told NBC Miami that they will be working with the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s office to determine if hate crime charges should also be filed.
@MiamiBeachPD arrest Timothy Merriam for etching swastikas on 5 vehicles. pic.twitter.com/JcCjX1D4Pu
— Miami Beach Alerts (@BeachNewsAlerts) March 7, 2017
Police have video evidence connecting Merriam to both the swastika vandalism and the tire slashing.
