2 students allegedly throw eggs, TP, paint, mustard, feces on car of coach they've never met

Suspects charged with hate crime

Wednesday, March 23, 2016
2 Oakhurst high school students arrested for committing hate crime
Two Oakhurst high school students are in juvenile hall after deputies said they committed a hate crime that targeted a local JV soccer coach.

OAKHURST, Calif. -- Two high school students from Oakhurst, California, are in juvenile hall after deputies said they committed a hate crime that targeted a local junior varsity soccer coach.

After a long weekend getaway, Victor Salazar came home Sunday afternoon hoping to catch some sleep. He never got that chance.

"I've been living here 10 years. I play soccer here. Never thought about this happening," Salazar said.

The Yosemite High School soccer coach said his cars were egged, his yard TP'd. He thought it was a prank but then the vandals struck again later that night.

"I never thought about it - like someone would hate me and target me," Salazar said.

The Madera County Sheriff's Office said it's investigating the incident as a hate crime.

Paint, mustard and feces were strewn over the car. Racial and homosexual slurs were also written on it. Salazar said the one the left side of the door was the most hurtful of all.

"They wrote, 'Go back to Mexico.' It's just taking it too far. It's way beyond a prank," Salazar said.

More perplexing than the crime, are the two people allegedly behind it. Salazar said one of the suspects - a student who attends the school where he coaches - called him Tuesday, confessing to the crime.

"When she told me about it, I was like, 'How?' I never met her in my life. I don't know who it is," Salazar said.

Deputies arrested two teens Tuesday night. Salazar said doesn't know who the two girls are.

"She said, 'I'm sorry.' I said, 'a simple sorry is not going to do it,'" Salazar said.

For now, he is just searching for answers, wanting to know why he felt so much hate from two strangers.

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