Two Northern California high school students have been arrested on felony charges after vandalizing a high school soccer coach's car with racist and homophobic messages and the name of GOP front-runner Donald Trump, the Sierra Star reports.
The two girls, aged 15 and 16, are not being named because they are juveniles. Both were arrested on Tuesday in Oakhurst and are facing felony vandalism and hate crime charges, the paper reports. They are accused of vandalizing Yosemite High soccer coach Victor Salazar's car and those belonging to his family with egg, feces, foul words and the word "Trump."
"I've been living here 10 years-- I play soccer here, never thought about this happening," Salazar told KFSN. "I never thought about it like someone would hate me and target me."
One of the cars was dented and the message, "Go back to Mexico" was written on it. "Trump" was also written on the inside of a phallic image.
It all started Sunday when Salazar returned home from a weekend trip and found that his parents' cars had been sprayed with mustard and wrapped with plastic. The family wrote it off as a prank carried out by kids didn't report it. But half past midnight on Monday morning, witnesses reported chasing off two suspects who were again vandalizing Salazar's Jetta, the Star reports.
He says he never met the two girls accused of the crimes, but says one of them called him to apologize. Police said the teens may have become fearful after seeing media coverage and hoped the apology would keep them out of trouble.
Salazar said he has always felt liked, both as a student at Yosemite High, then while coaching JV boys' soccer after graduating.
“I was very loved by teachers and students,” Salazar told the Star. “And now that I started coaching at the high school, I was even more. And the more I think about it, I cannot picture who would have done this.”
Watch the report, from KFSN, here:
