Elmhurst man charged with spray-painting swastikas on homes, vehicles

Joel Jexie

An Elmhurst man has been charged with spray-painting swastikas on several homes and vehicles this year.

Joel Jexie, 25, has been charged with three counts of a hate crime and one count of criminal damage to property.

On Saturday, the Elmhurst Police Department received a call regarding vandalism on Oak Street.

When officers arrived, they found swastikas painted on two garage doors of a home as well as on a Lexus ES 350.

On Tuesday, Elmurst police received another call regarding a swastika that was spray-painted on a VW Atlas on Crockett Avenue.

During their investigation, officers determined that Jexie was the suspect in these two cases, as well as the offender who spray-painted a home on Walnut Street in April.

Jexie was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon without incident. 

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"The allegations against Mr. Jexie are very disturbing and have been charged accordingly," DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said. "Hate crimes have no place in a civilized society and the allegations against Mr. Jexie in no way represent the welcoming, good-hearted people of DuPage County."

Bond was set at $100,000 for Jexie, and his next court appearance is scheduled for August 5.