A 20-year-old Petaluma man has been arrested in connection with the racist vandalism left on the vehicle belonging to a well-known local youth basketball coach and former Harlem Globetrotter, police said.
The suspect, Corey Newman, was linked to the vandalism through surveillance video, police said. He was arrested Wednesday during a traffic stop and taken into custody without incident.
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Newman was booked into Sonoma County jail on suspicion of vandalism for defacing property and commission of a hate crime, police said.
The arrest marked a breakthrough in an incident that drew widespread condemnation after the coach, William Bullard, who is Black, posted on social media about the vandalism of his vehicle, which included racist slurs and swastikas scrawled in the dust on his SUV.
He also shared his account with The Press Democrat.
The vehicle was parked in a downtown Petaluma garage near Bullard’s apartment from Dec. 1 through Dec. 9, and was defaced at some point during that time.
Bullard, who noted the garage surveillance cameras in his social media posts about the incident, contacted police.
After reviewing more than a week of surveillance footage, officers identified Newman as the person believed responsible for the vandalism, police said.
Bullard, who has lived in Petaluma for about five years, said the vandalism left him concerned about his safety.
“It is tough to deal with being a minority here in Sonoma County, where it is 1-2% Black,” Bullard previously told The Press Democrat. “With my impact within the community, to walk outside to your car and see that is really tough.”
Police, in their news release on the arrest, noted the media coverage and attention the attack had drawn through social media.
The department said it takes all hate-related incidents seriously and remains committed to thorough and impartial investigations, noting that crimes motivated by bias affect not only those directly targeted but the broader community.
You can reach Staff Writer Isabel Beer at isabel.beer@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @IsabelSongbeer