CLEARWATER, Fla. (WFLA) — A man in Florida is facing a felony charge after the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said he wrote “Go back to Mexico” on the outside of a Clearwater auto repair shop.
Michael Taylor, 33, was captured by surveillance camera spray painting one of the buildings leased by Wrecktified Paint and Collision.
An arrest affidavit said he wrote the words “Go back to Mexico,” “Learn to serve God,” and “God’s judgment” in black spray paint. He did around $999 worth of damage to the building.
Taylor was identified by the staff and has had “bad prior dealings” with the shop, the affidavit said. The offense occurred earlier this month, and Taylor was arrested on August 28 and charged with criminal mischief.
Since Taylor has had confrontations with the business before, and because the owner and employees of Wrecktified are of Hispanic descent, the crime met the requirement for prejudice while committing an offense, which bumped the charge up to a first-degree felony.
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