Boudin charges man with hate crime for string of vandalism

An alleged scooterriding vandal accused of smashing the windows of 20 Chinese-owned businesses in San Francisco is facing 33 criminal charges, including hate crime allegations, prosecutors said Monday.

Between April and this month, officials said 36-year-old Derik Barreto took a slingshot, pipe or hammer to the windows of Chinese businesses along the Ocean Avenue corridor and in the Mission, using a scooter as his mode of transportation.

In statements to police, Barreto suggested he intentionally targeted the businesses based on the perceived race and nationality of the victims, prosecutors said.

“We absolutely do not tolerate violence or hate in San Francisco. Chinese-owned businesses should be able to operate without fear of being racially targeted by vandalism, burglary, or harassment,” San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin said in a statement.

Some of the stores vandalized included Nails by Lisa, Chase Luck Bakery and Lucky Ocean on Ocean Avenue, and Won Kok restaurant on Monterey Boulevard.

Barreto is charged with 27 counts of vandalism, four counts of seconddegree burglary, misdemeanor counts of possessing burglary tools and a concealed weapon and 31 counts of hate crime enhancements.

The five burglary charges are based on separate incidents in which officials said Barreto took cash and other items after entering through the businesses’ shattered windows.