A Chicago man faces felony hate crime charges after he allegedly drew racist graffiti on a trio of North Side homes earlier this month.

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Heath Levey, 51, was charged Friday with two felony hate crimes and three misdemeanor counts of criminally defacing property after Chicago police say he drew swastikas and other graffiti on three Buena Park neighborhood homes.

All three incidents occurred between the afternoon of Friday, Nov. 2 and the morning of Saturday, Nov. 3. Chicago police say Levey used chalk to draw the Nazi symbol and write “C.I.A.” or “C.I.A. FU” on fences and garages in the 800 blocks of West Hutchinson Street and West Junior Terrace.

Health Levey, 51 was taken into custody after being identified from home surveillance footage as the individual who drew a Swastika symbol (an emblem of the German Nazi Party) and other graffiti on the properties located on the 800 block of West Hutchinson on November 2. pic.twitter.com/vn9xSOrr3q — Chicago Police (@Chicago_Police) November 9, 2018

Police say Levey – who lives only blocks away from the properties where the graffiti was found – was taken into custody after he was identified through home surveillance footage.

The state of Illinois last year enacted a new law that requires hate crime sentences to be served consecutively, rather than concurrently. The state this year also expanded the number of offenses that can be prosecuted as hate crimes.

Contact Matt Masterson: @ByMattMasterson | [email protected] | (773) 509-5431

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