Hate crime suspect allegedly steals Mexican flag and leaves threatening note for Santa Ana family

After displaying their Mexican flag proudly for years, a family in Santa Ana has turned to the police after a hate crime suspect stole their banner, defaced their property and threatened them.

"It's rising to the level where these feel like they could become unpredictable," homeowner Carlos Antunez said. "Right now, it's a rock, the vandalism. I don't know what the next step is."

Antunez and his family have lived at their home nestled in the middle of a Hispanic community, where neighbors celebrate everything from the Fourth of July to the Mexican Independence Day, for nearly 20 years. They have proudly flown several banners on their front porch, including the US, California and Mexican flags. 

"We celebrate both nationalities," Antunez, a local teacher, said. "We're proud of our dual heritage. It's something to be proud of."

However, the culture that once made them feel proud has turned into a reason for someone to target them. On Oct. 21, Antunez's security cameras captured a man ripping their Mexican flag and the pole it flew on from their front porch. Thinking that it was an isolated incident, Antunez and his family somewhat brushed it aside and put up another one.

"We didn't make much of it," he said. "We thought it was bizarre but didn't really think too much of it. After that, it was actually pretty quiet. we kept vigilant, kind of kept an eye on things, but we didn't really say anything ... We thought it was behind us until recently."

Between Monday night and Tuesday morning, Antunez's mother stumbled upon a note written in broken Spanish, telling them that it was their last warning to take down their replacement. His mother continued to walk around the family's front yard and found "USA" spray painted on their front fence.

"There was nothing offensive with the flag," Antunez said. "There's nothing out there that, we would feel like justifies... this type of behavior."

In the days following the graffiti, the Santa Ana Police Department launched a hate crime investigation into the theft and vandalism. After brushing off the first incident, Antunez now finds himself frustrated, angry and heartbroken that someone would come into a "predominantly Hispanic" neighborhood and do something like this.

"It's uncalled for. It's unwarranted," he said. "There's no space for that type of behavior, hatred. As we plan to move forward with this, we hope that the person is found. We hope this stops and we can all carry on with how we have as a community."

While he's concerned about his family's safety, he has no plans to remove the Mexican flag from his family's porch.

"There was nothing offensive with the flag," he said. "There's nothing out there we would feel like justifies ... this type of behavior."