Newton teens face charges over racist graffiti on car

Newton police plan to seek criminal charges against three Newton teenagers accused of marking a vehicle with racist graffiti last month.

The car's owner, Jennifer Brennan, discovered her vehicle with a smashed window, scratches on the hood and driver's side door, and racist graffiti, including bright red swastikas and racial slurs painted on the vehicle.

Police plan to charge Theodore Bisbicos, 18, Joshua Stack, 18, and James Pine, 17, all of Newton, with malicious damage to a motor vehicle and civil rights violations.

The incident was the latest in a spate of apparent hate crimes in the city in the last six months. The first occurred in October, when racist and homophobic graffiti were written on a mural at Bowen Elementary School.

Spurred by the incidents, Mayor David Cohen announced Friday that the city would hold a forum, titled Newton Dialogue on Race, on Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom of the American Legion in Newton. The event will consist of a panel including Cohen, Newton Human Rights Commission chairwoman Marianne Fergus, Myrtle Baptist Church Pastor Howard Haywood, Police Chief J. J. O'Brien, and Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Young. Human rights activist Hubie Jones will moderate the event.

''We continue to deplore hate crimes and acts of intolerance in the city of Newton," Cohen said in a release. ''When these actions are taken by a few, our city comes out in force to reinforce that there is no place for hate here. Our Dialogue on Race is intended to take stock on where we are as a community on race relations, where we want to be, and how we can get there."

Police said that the damage to Brennan's car may have resulted from a drug transaction in the vehicle earlier that day. According to police, one of the suspects and a 21-year-old Newton resident were assaulted by other participants in the alleged drug deal.

Police said they plan to seek charges against three other teenagers in connection with the assault. Johnnie Morgain, 19, a houseguest of Brennan's, and a 15-year-old juvenile will be charged with assault and battery. A 16-year-old juvenile will be charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, a car door.