BILOXI — Malicious mischief or a hate crime?
Lee Parmeter believes the latter is to blame for unsettling graffiti that recently appeared on his garage door in the Sunkist subdivision in Biloxi.
Parmeter, 75, said he knows of no reason why anyone would target him with the painting of a swastika and the words "Waffen SS." He's not Jewish.
"I don't have a clue," Parmeter said, "but I really think it has to do with a white supremacist group."
Parmeter, an author of historical fiction novels, said he noticed the paint on his garage when he went out to get his newspaper early the morning of July 28.
"I'm quite concerned about it," said Parmeter, a retired Air Force combat veteran.
Parmeter said he contacted the Department of Homeland Security but he hasn't heard from that agency. Biloxi police were sent to his house instead.
"We're still looking at it," said Police Capt. John Miller, who leads Biloxi's special crimes unit. "I haven't seen any indication that would necessarily say it's a hate crime, but I haven't ruled that out."
At the least, it could be a case of malicious mischief, the charge for vandalism.
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