By Redacción
[email protected]
Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced today that 18-year-old Matthew Daniel Rakowski, of Simi Valley, faces charges of felony vandalism and a misdemeanor hate crime following an alleged graffiti incident involving antisemitic and white supremacist symbols.
Rakowski also faces a special allegation for committing the crime alongside another individual, marking him as the second suspect charged in the case.
The first suspect, 18-year-old Johann Bernhardt Patrick, of Thousand Oaks, was charged and arraigned on similar counts on Oct. 17, 2024.
On Oct. 14, Thousand Oaks Patrol Deputies responded to a report of graffiti on a commercial building, where surveillance footage captured two suspects marking explicit hate speech and symbols. Detectives identified the suspects and their vehicle, leading to Patrick’s arrest in Thousand Oaks on Oct. 15. A search of Patrick’s residence reportedly revealed further evidence. Rakowski was taken into custody the following day in Simi Valley.
Deputy District Attorney Hayley Moyer, from the Ventura County District Attorney’s Major Crimes Gangs Unit, is prosecuting the case.
Rakowski’s arraignment in Ventura County Superior Court is scheduled for Oct. 30 at 9 a.m. in courtroom 11. He is currently out on bail set at $20,000.
