TMZ reported Wednesday that a home owned by NBA star LeBron James in Los Angeles was vandalized when someone spray-painted the n-word on his front gate. LAPD detectives are investigating the incident as a possible hate crime and are examining security-camera footage from nearby homes in an attempt to identify the perpetrator.
The graffiti was covered up by the house’s property management company, USA Today reported, after it was discovered around 6:45 a.m. local time Wednesday morning. James was not living at the residence at the time of the vandalism, an LAPD spokeswoman told the AP, as he’s preparing for the Cleveland Cavaliers’ NBA Finals series against the Golden State Warriors.
According to publicly available records, James purchased the home in Los Angeles’s tony Brentwood neighborhood for just less than $21 million in 2015. Here’s what it looks like from the street, via Google:
The New York Daily News has a close-up view of the gate.
UPDATE: LeBron's LA home vandalized with N-word spray painted on front gate as source tells News 'it's a hate crime' https://t.co/gRAm6JDq4K pic.twitter.com/Nji3pRIDM7
— NY Daily News Sports (@NYDNSports) May 31, 2017
California has a fairly severe punishment for vandalism if it reaches a certain amount of damage, Sports Illustrated law expert Michael McCann reports:
If suspects who vandalized LeBron's home are caught & damage is at least $400, they can be prosecuted for felonies (up to 3 yrs in prison). https://t.co/0UgLhoQ9Nc
— Michael McCann (@McCannSportsLaw) May 31, 2017
A law enforcement source told the Daily News that there are no suspects and that there haven’t been any similar incidents recently in the neighborhood.