This story has been updated.
Crude images containing racial and religious slurs were spray-painted across vehicles, fences and homes on the North Side last weekend, prompting a hate crime investigation by the San Antonio Police Department.
About 20 residents reported damage in the 14000 block of George Road in the Castle Hills Forest subdivision, which included offensive symbols and graffiti signatures — stylized markings commonly referred to as “tags” which are used to identify their work. Officers searching the area found two empty spray paint cans behind a home.
No arrests have been made yet in connection with this incident.
Under Texas law, graffiti is typically charged based on the extent of the damage and where it happened.
Defacing property with paint or etching tools can range from a Class C misdemeanor — for damage under $100 — to a state jail felony when the damage exceeds $2,500 or targets certain locations, like schools, places of worship or public monuments with damages exceeding $750.
If more than one person’s property is damaged in a single incident, the cost of all the damage is added together to determine the classification of the offense. It is still considered one offense under state law.
In this case, because the graffiti included racially and religiously defamatory slurs, investigators are treating it as a hate crime. In Texas, hate crimes are not charged as standalone offenses. Instead, courts can apply sentence enhancements under The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Act, a federal law passed in 2009 that works in tandem with state-level provisions.
Under Texas law, prosecutors can seek harsher penalties when they can prove a crime was motivated by bias or prejudice — but only if the underlying offense is at least a Class A misdemeanor. The enhancement increases the punishment by one degree, unless the charge is already a first-degree felony.
For example, if the North Side graffiti is classified as a Class A misdemeanor — which carries up to one year in jail and a $4,000 fine — a hate crime enhancement could elevate it to a state jail felony, punishable by 180 days to two years in jail and a fine of up to $10,000.
The FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) defines a hate crime — also referred to as a bias crime — as any criminal offense committed, at least in part, because of a person’s race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender or gender identity.
According to NIBRS data, San Antonio police have reported 21 hate crimes so far in 2025, through the end of July. That’s just below the 23 reported by this time last year. In total, 34 hate crimes were reported in San Antonio in 2024.
In an email to the Report, SAPD emphasized its commitment to pursuing the case under hate crime provisions.
“In Texas, hate crimes are addressed through penalty enhancements rather than separate charges. This allows for increased punishment when a crime is motivated by bias or prejudice,” SAPD Public Information Officer Camelia Juarez wrote. “We’re committed to building the strongest case possible for the District Attorney to prosecute.”
The investigation remains ongoing. SAPD asks anyone with information regarding the incident to contact the Property Crimes Unit at 210-207-8326.
Correction: This story has been updated to specify that the crime occurred in the Castle Hills Forest subdivision, which is just north of Castle Hills.
