Seth A. Richardson

srichardson@rgj.com

A Hispanic couple’s truck was vandalized Wednesday night in Northwest Reno with graffiti including Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's name, in what one of the victims said was a hate crime.

Esmeralda Estrada, 31, of Reno, said the truck, which is only about two months old, was fine when she and her husband went to sleep around 10 p.m. Wednesday. When they woke up Thursday, it was keyed several times, including the word “Trump” scratched into the side. The tailgate was also spray-painted with “VOTE TRUMP.”

Estrada said she and her husband are not politically active, but thought she might know a reason why.

“It sucks to think that obviously they did it because we’re Hispanic,” she said. “My husband had a sunshade on it with the Mexican flag. So it was either that or I feel like it was somebody who already knows us because we’re the only Hispanics there where we live. I can’t help but think it was because of that where somebody knew. I don’t think it was random.”

Estrada said her car was parked right next to the Truck and was left untouched, possibly since it did not bear any Mexican ornaments. She called the police, but was told to file an online report, which she did. Reno Police Department Lt. Scott Shaw confirmed the report was filed, but it had not been assigned as of yet since it still needed to pass through supervisory review.

This isn’t the first time graffiti bearing Trump’s name has appeared in the Reno area. The Washoe County Democratic Party headquarters sign was vandalized in late June when somebody wrote “VOTE 4 TRUMP” in red spray-paint.

Washoe County Democratic Party sign vandalized