Letter 'b' on gun application leads to New Hampshire racist graffiti arrest

CONCORD, NH -- Police say a detective combed through hundreds of gun permit applications in Concord, N.H., to find one with a distinctive lowercase "b'' that led to an arrest in a 2-year-old racist graffiti case.

Police on Tuesday arrested 42-year-old Raymond Stevens, of Pembroke, on a warrant charging him with criminal mischief.

The graffiti was scrawled in black permanent marker on the homes of several African refugee families in 2011 and 2012. The messages on the houses called the occupants "subhumans" and told them they are "not welcome."

Stevens was arraigned Tuesday and ordered held on $8,000 bail. His public defender, Melinda Siranian, declined to comment.

A police affidavit says Detective Wade Brown went through about 1,500 handwritten gun permit applications as part of the investigation. The key clue: Stevens' "b'' looked like a "6."

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