Anti-Gay Vandal Identified Through Trump Bumper Sticker
Chicago police identified a suspect in hate crimes involving anti-LGBTQ vandalism because of a unique clue he left behind.
Chicago police identified the suspect in a series of anti-gay hate crimes directed against a neighbor’s home through a unique bumper sticker he left at the crime scene.
Last Thursday, 62-year-old Thomas Howard, a resident of the city’s Jefferson Park neighborhood, appeared for a bail hearing before Cook County Circuit Court Associate Judge Barbara Dawkins on two felony counts of stalking, one felony hate crime charge, and one count of criminal damage to property valued between $500 and $10,000, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.
Police identified Howard as the chief suspect in their case because he was the only person in the area who purchased a unique bumper sticker showing former President Donald Trump urinating on President Joe Biden’s name — a detail revealed during the bail hearing.
According to Assistant State’s Attorney Sarah Dale-Schmidt, between May of last year and January, Howard repeatedly targeted a family’s home in the 5700 block of North Mason Avenue because they displayed a Pride flag on their front porch.
Howard is accused of trespassing on the family’s porch in May to chop the Pride flag in half. Two months later, he allegedly sprayed stain on a replacement Pride flag using a Super Soaker and gave the middle finger to the family’s security camera, his face covered by a bandana, according to CWB Chicago.
Dale-Schmidt claimed that Howard returned to the family’s home several times, leaving “right-wing political notes and stickers” on their home, and each time being captured on surveillance camera.
Despite living less than a block away from his victims’ home, nobody recognized him as fitting the physical description of the perpetrator, even after local media reported on the crimes and released still surveillance images of the suspect.
Among the messages left on the family’s home: “Impeach OBiden and Hack Harris,” with a picture of a banana, scribbled in Sharpie and “I heart MAGA” with a picture of a middle finger, and an “M” and “A” scrawled in orange paint.
Following that last incident, the victims targeted by the vandalism — a 41-year-old woman and a 43-year-old man who are part of the LGBTQ community — told Block Club Chicago that they believed the suspect had intended to write “MAGA” on the garage but ran out of paint after using most of it to douse their Pride flag — marking a third time that he tried to deface the symbolic banner.
Neighbors and supporters helped the family paint over the vandalism with a mural that read, “Love Wins.” But days later, Howard allegedly returned to the home, painting the messages: “creeps,” “weirdos,” and “POS dems” on their property. He then slapped the bumper sticker showing Trump urinating on Biden’s name on the garage.
Investigators learned that the only place in the world to buy that particular bumper sticker was from an eBay seller.
They reportedly obtained a grand jury subpoena for eBay sales records, and determined that Thomas Howard was the only resident of the area who had purchased one, Dale-Schmidt said in court.
After learning Howard’s name, police detectives determined that Howard had previously been involved in a traffic accident while driving a car with a People’s Gas logo on the side.
People’s Gas subsequently told those detectives that Howard had been given “multiple coachings” about having political discussions at work.
According to Dale-Schmidt, Howard’s job at People’s Gas involved using high-visibility spray paint similar to the kind used in the vandalism incidents, which all occurred when Howard was off work.
Howard told Judge Dawkins at his bail hearing: “I’ve taken ownership of what I’ve done, and I’m not proud of it.”
Dawkins, who called the allegations against Howard “harmful and repugnant,” ordered the 62-year-old Chicagoan to pay $8,000 in bail to be released from jail.
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