Category Archives: Hate crimes

Benicia CA, Benicia crime, Hate crimes, Stephen Golub

Hate Has No Home Here

By Stephen Golub… “Lots of questions swirl around the crime….”

By Stephen Golub, Benicia resident and author, “Benicia and Beyond” column in the Benicia Herald, September 6, 2026

Benicia resident and author Stephen Golub

Perhaps you’ve seen the “Hate Has No Home Here” sign outside some Benicia homes. It signals that the household treasures tolerance over bigotry, inclusion over exclusion, and love over hate.

Benicia made a related statement with our Police Department’s August 31 arrest of Vallejo resident Esa Gabriel Makei for the defacement of the inspiring “Together We Rise” mural, which is located on the alley bordering First Street’s NY2CA Gallery. On the night of August 26, Makei allegedly painted over the part of the mural that specifically highlights such sentiments as love, peace, hope, belonging, kindness, diversity and inclusion.

Makei was identified (and found with a spray paint can inside his car) via the use of surveillance video and Flock license plate reader cameras. An NBC Bay Area article reports that he confessed to the act and “faces charges of felony vandalism and a misdemeanor hate crime.” Kudos to the police for catching the likely culprit.

Lots of questions swirl around the crime. For one thing, since that same spot was defaced in July (though in a different manner), was Makei the perpetrator in both incidents?

Regardless, why did he apparently commit the August 26 crime, especially since he reportedly is himself an artist and muralist? Was something hateful or hurtful going on in his head or life? Was it hate generally directed toward love and the mural’s other positive elements? Or was it particularly aimed against the LGBTQ community, since aspects of the targeted section could be interpreted as especially supporting such groups?

The fact that Makei has been charged with a hate crime could reflect that particular focus. As reported by a fine online Benicia Bridge article (published before the suspect was apprehended), the California Department of Justice defines a hate crime as “a crime against a person, group, or property motivated by the victim’s real or perceived protected social group.” You don’t even have to interpret the vandalism that way to see how un-American the act was; it attacked art, certainly, but also free speech and many values we all share.

The incident itself was certainly not good news. But it is profoundly good that many Benicians have rallied around the mural, as well as around artist Wendy Buresh, who designed the defaced section, and NY2CA owner Vickie Marchand, who commissioned and was a moving force behind this moving, beautiful addition to the Benicia scene and spirit.

Speaking of which, Marchand’s admirable comments on the crime reflect the compassion and tolerance the “Together We Rise” mural embodies. As reported by the Benicia Bridge article, she said that  “I really would love to have a conversation with this person, to kind of say, ‘How can we help you? What can we do so that you have some hope because it seems like it’s gone.’”

That’s not to say that she or others don’t want to see Makei punished if he’s convicted. I certainly do. But perhaps there’s also  a restorative justice angle to pursue – not mutually exclusive with punishment – through which he could give back something positive to the community on which he allegedly unleashed such a hateful act.

For right now, though, we can be thankful that the probable perpetrator was caught, that the great majority of Benicians choose love over hate, and that we have people like Buresh and Marchand to restore the damaged art in the spirit of the rising Phoenix it represents.

As Marchand has observed, “We’re going through an uncertain time in our nation, and this mural was supposed to give hope. It was supposed to be a piece of art that moved you.”

It does give hope and it does move us. Here’s to love triumphing over hate. Here’s to Benicia and America rising to meet our challenges.

Because hate must have no home here.

Benicia resident and author Stephen Golub, A Promised Land

Stephen Golub writes about democracy and politics, both in America and abroad, at A Promised Land: America as a Developing Country.

…and… here’s more Golub on the Benicia Independent

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#BlackLivesMatter, Benicia CA, Diversity Equity & Inclusion, Hate crimes, Racial bias, Racism

Benicia Mayor Steve Young on racism in Benicia: ‘We do, in fact, have a problem’

Steve Young on Facebook, April 18, 2021

On the hate crime last weekend and the arrest

Benicia Mayor Steve Young

I recently received an email from a member of the community asking me to push back against the idea that Benicia has a problem with racism. They argued that Benicia Black Lives Matter is overstating the degree of racism in our town. I responded by saying that there was, in fact, a problem here that needed to be acknowledged. They politely, but firmly, disagreed.

The incident on April 10 in the Raley’s parking lot, where three young Black teenagers were subjected to racial slurs by a white Benicia resident who later threatened them with an airsoft pistol, showed that an idealized version of Benicia is not the reality. It was the most recent and overt example of racism here, but it was not the only one. A white Benicia fisherman was captured on camera berating a group of Asian-Americans on the pier for fishing in “his” spot, and asking where “they” came from.

The young victims at the Raley’s center are understandably traumatized by this act of racist hate and intimidation. The alleged perpetrator was quickly arrested by Benicia police on several counts, including perpetrating a hate crime. He is currently out on bail, and charging decisions will be made by the District Attorney.

There are clearly too many people in Benicia, be they citizens or visitors, who still suffer from racial bias (both conscious and unconscious), and too many people of color who suffer direct and indirect discrimination. Whether the bias comes from blatant hatred, ignorance or lack of education/information, it is real and it needs to be acknowledged before it can be meaningfully addressed.

The City has taken the first steps by hiring a part-time Racial and Equity Manager to help us review our own practices. Benicia is approximately 30% minority, but the makeup of our various Boards and Commissions, as well as our overall city employment, does not reflect that level of representation.

Clearly, there is work that needs to be done to make our community more inclusive and welcoming to all of our residents. But that work must start with acknowledging that we do, in fact, have a problem.
We can do better as a community by opening our mind and listening to each other. Hate and racism have no place in Benicia, and we must do our best to make this a more welcoming and inclusive city.

#BlackLivesMatter, Benicia Black Lives Matter, Benicia CA, Benicia Police, Hate crimes, Raley's Benicia

Benician arrested for hate crime against 3 black kids outside Raley’s

Male suspect in Benicia arrested for alleged hate crime, DUI

Vallejo Times Herald, By KATY ST. CLAIR, April 15, 2021
Source: facebook.com/StandUpBenicia/

A 20-year-old man was arrested in Benicia on Saturday for an alleged felony “hate crime.”

Patric Knoblich is accused of making racial slurs against a group of minors at the Southampton Shopping Center as he drove past them, police said. He was also booked for allegedly brandishing a replica of a gun and driving under the influence.

According to a post on the Facebook group Stand-Up Benicia, the victims — ages 13, 14 and 15 — were walking their bikes next to the shopping complex when a man yelled from his car, “Hey you nasty (N-words)!” Two passengers reportedly looked on and laughed.

The children say they have a recording of the incident. The Times-Herald listened to the audio and a male can be heard yelling the slur, and also saying “You (expletive) nasty!”

According to the Benicia Police Department, “a short time later, the teens asked the driver why he made the comments and at this point, the driver brandished a realistic-looking airsoft gun” and drove away.

The juveniles claim that when the car came back, the driver also yelled, “You don’t know who you’re (expletive) with, (expletive)!”

The boys told a source familiar to the Times-Herald that they were fearful and went into Raley’s Supermarket to report what had happened. According to the boys, the manager of Raley’s told them to “go home,” though a spokesperson for Raley’s said that is inaccurate and that the store manager called 911.

The Benicia Police confirm that Raley’s did indeed call 911, but after the victim’s mother had already done so.

According to a post on Stand Up Benicia, the boys were frightened and went to the back of the store, where the mother of one of their schoolmates recognized them and took them home. The mother of one of the boys then called 911 and the police arrived at their home.

According to BPD, officers located the alleged driver of the vehicle, Knoblich, whom they say is out on bail for a previous, unrelated crime. Police say the incident is still under investigation.

Knoblich was booked into Solano County Jail on April 11 for misdemeanor brandishing of a firearm replica, driving under the influence and driving under the influence as a minor, and a felony “violation of civil rights.”

Knoblich has been released from jail. The Times-Herald has reached out to the district attorney about the case, but had not heard back by press time.