CWU Student Charged With Hate Crimes After Repeated Vandalism
A Central Washington University (CWU) student has been charged with hate crimes after police say he committed multiple acts of vandalism and left threatening notes on a vehicle and a residence in Ellensburg.
The Ellensburg Daily Record says 20-year-old Bryce Abraham Rhodes entered a plea of 'not guilty' to four counts of committing a hate crime, and two counts each of felony harassment and first-degree malicious mischief at his arraignment in Kittitas County Superior Court last Thursday (Oct. 30).
Investigators say they've linked Rhodes to the vandalism of at least six vehicles that were parked along East 10th Avenue on Sept. 18, Oct. 17, and Oct. 24.
During the incidents on Oct. 17, police say all four tires of one vehicle were slashed and that the same vehicle was also targeted with a note reading, "I will rape and kill you" during the vandalism on Oct. 24.
Detectives say a note was also placed on the door of the residence where the vehicle was parked which threatened to "blow up" the home, and that both notes contained the use of racial slurs.
Surveillance video from a home in the neighborhood where the vandalism occurred helped police identify Rhodes as a suspect, and he was arrested at his dormitory on the CWU campus a short time later.
Court documents indicate Rhodes admitted to investigators that he'd intentionally damaged the vehicles but claimed to have selected his targets at random and did not specifically identify any one person to victimize. Records say Rhodes went on to tell police that he vandalized the same vehicle on repeated occasions because it was the nearest in proximity to his residence.
Rhodes allegedly used a collapsible knife to scratch the exterior of several cars and slash the tires of the repeatedly-vandalized vehicle, which suffered over $5,000 in damage alone.
He was ordered held at the Kittitas County Jail on $125,000 bail ahead of his trial date of Dec. 22.