A Burbank man was taken into custody Saturday after a swastika was spray-painted on a wall near the intersection of E. Alameda Avenue and S. Flower Street. Officers arrested a suspect matching a description provided to police, according to city records. The incident, logged in public arrest reports and picked up by local media this week, has again stirred concern following earlier antisemitic vandalism in the city.
Police locate suspect minutes after call comes in
Officers responded at around 4:40 p.m. Saturday and quickly found a man nearby after receiving a suspect description. He was detained at the scene and later booked on suspicion of vandalism and a hate crime, according to NBC Los Angeles.
City records spell out booking and hate-crime tag
The City of Burbank's public arrest log identifies the arrestee as "VASGHANIANPEKAJIKI, TADEH" and lists the arrest location as E. Alameda Avenue and S. Flower Street, with a report time around 5:06 p.m. The entry shows a charge of "damage/vandalism of property over $400" along with a hate-crime designation, according to the City of Burbank arrest log.
Case echoes earlier antisemitic vandalism in city
The arrest comes on the heels of a February case in which Burbank police said a 17-year-old was arrested after two large swastikas were painted on Temple Emanu El's exterior wall. Detectives said the teen was also linked to neo‑Nazi recruitment materials found at Los Angeles Mission College, as reported by NBC Los Angeles.
Legal note
The city's log reflects the vandalism count and the hate‑crime enhancement; whether those allegations become felony charges will be determined by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. The DA's office maintains a dedicated hate‑crimes unit and says it will aggressively prosecute bias‑motivated offenses, according to a recent Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office news release.
Investigators have not released additional information about motive or any broader connections beyond what appears in public records. Authorities are asking anyone with information to come forward as the case moves through the criminal‑justice system.
