New Hampshire man gets year in jail for writing racist graffiti on homes of African refugees
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A New Hampshire man has admitted scrawling racist graffiti on the homes of four African refugee families and will spend the next year in county jail.
Forty-four-year-old Raymond Stevens pleaded guilty Wednesday to criminal mischief — a special felony because his conduct is considered a hate crime.
A judge rejected his plea for probation or to serve the sentence at home. Stevens had faced up to 30 years in prison.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Police say he wrote hateful messages in black permanent marker on the homes of refugee families in the same Concord neighborhood in 2011 and 2012. Writings included: "Go back to your hell and leave us alone."
Stevens was arrested in October 2013.
He shot himself in the head a month after his arrest in a failed suicide attempt.