A 20-year-old man pleaded not guilty Thursday to felony charges after prosecutors say he spray-painted swastikas, the N-word and other racist language across a five-block stretch of the Lake Murray neighborhood, causing roughly $14,000 in damage to homes, vehicles, fences and walls.
Eli S. Peralta was charged under California laws that bar displaying terrorizing symbols like swastikas on private property, according to San Diego Jewish World, which reported he entered his not-guilty plea during an October 1 court appearance. As reported by 10News, the San Diego County District Attorney's Office says the graffiti spree unfolded over two nights, September 9 and September 10, defacing a home along with multiple vehicles, fences and walls with the slurs.
Peralta has been charged with four felony counts and faces up to five years in local custody if convicted, per the station's report. He is currently out of custody following Thursday's arraignment, and the court ordered him to stay away from every location where the vandalism occurred while also barring him from possessing any vandalism tools.
A Second Suspect Remains at Large
Prosecutors say Peralta did not act alone. The district attorney's office has said another person participated in the crimes, and that second suspect is still being sought, per the same account. Investigators are asking anyone with information about that individual to contact San Diego police.
San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan addressed the case directly, saying hate crimes are taken very seriously in San Diego County. She said vandalizing property with swastikas and racist slurs is intended to intimidate, demean and cause fear, adding that her office will stand with victims and hold those responsible accountable.
Stephan's office prosecutes hate crimes through a dedicated Hate Crimes Unit inside its Special Operations Division, which uses vertical prosecution so a single attorney handles a case from arraignment through sentencing, according to the San Diego County District Attorney's Office. The office represents 18 cities and unincorporated areas across the county.
How the Charges Stack Up Legally
The case sits at the intersection of two California statutes. Penal Code § 11411 specifically criminalizes placing or displaying a Nazi swastika on private property to terrorize an owner or occupant, a law that distinguishes intentional terrorizing from merely reckless display, according to Justia Law.
Separately, Penal Code § 594 sets the threshold for felony vandalism at $400 or more in property damage, carrying potential custody sentences of 16 months to three years along with fines up to $10,000, per Shouse Law Group. With damage estimated at $14,000, the Lake Murray case clears that bar by a wide margin.
A Pattern Emerging in East San Diego
The Lake Murray spree did not happen in isolation. In early September, San Diego police investigated a similar incident in the neighboring San Carlos neighborhood, where swastikas and racist terms were spray-painted across three blocks on homes, fences, concrete barriers and vehicles, as relayed by Hoodline. San Carlos directly borders Lake Murray, raising questions about whether the two sprees are connected, though that link has not been established.
The surge comes against a broader statewide backdrop. California's 2025 Hate Crime Report, released in July by the state Department of Justice, found reported hate crime events involving racial or ethnic bias rose 6.2 percent, from 1,011 in 2024 to 1,074 in 2025, even as overall statewide hate crime events dipped 3.4 percent to 1,955. That followed an earlier rise of 2.7 percent in statewide hate crime events between 2023 and 2024, according to the agency's annual reporting.
San Diego police log bias-motivated offenses like the Lake Murray spree through the federal National Incident-Based Reporting System, which became the standard reporting format for California law enforcement in 2021 and categorizes incidents by specific bias types including race and religion, according to the City of San Diego Open Data Portal. For now, the identity of Peralta's alleged accomplice remains unknown, and investigators have not said whether the Lake Murray and San Carlos incidents are related.
