An 18-year-old man accused of defacing an Imperial Beach residence pleaded not guilty Thursday to a misdemeanor vandalism count, but was not facing hate crime charges despite sheriff’s officials stating his involvement with drawing “hate-related graffiti” on multiple South Bay homes.
Kristoffer Wilheim Von Hassel was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of tagging the residences with “hate symbols and anti-Semitic graffiti.”
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office first received reports on Sept. 13 of a home on Elm Avenue and another on Seacoast Drive that were defaced with “markings consistent with a black permanent marker.” Six days later, the Elm Avenue home was marked with “additional hate-related graffiti,” sheriff’s officials said…