Man gets jail time for racist defacing of Ponderosas mural in Costa Mesa

A 28-year-old Dana Point man pleaded guilty Friday for defacing a landmark mural in Costa Mesa with white supremacist message and was immediately sentenced to six months in jail.

Daniel Alec Hotte pleaded guilty to felony vandalism with a sentencing enhancement for a hate crime. Orange County Superior Court Judge Greg Jones gave Hotte credit for 90 days for finishing a drug-treatment program.

Hotte was placed on two years of formal probation. He was also ordered to do 10 hours of community service and can report to jail by Feb. 2.

Officers were sent to the 3000 block of Killybrooke Lane about 2:30 p.m. Oct. 31, 2022, in response to the vandalism report, Roxi Fyad of the Costa Mesa Police Department said.

“When officers arrived, they found that the Poderosas mural, a local landmark that commemorates Latina heritage, was vandalized with white supremacy language,” Fyad said in a statement.

“The mural is well known in the community and spans over 70 feet of a block wall and honors immigrant Latina women,” Fyad said.

Fyad said the mural was created in October 2020 by an all-women crew that was led by artist Alicia Rojas.

“Individuals in the area observed the suspect vandalizing the Poderosas mural by spray-painting a hate crime message on the mural,” Fyad said. “Witnesses reported the crime and also provided video of the incident to CMPD. During the investigation, Daniel Alec Hotte ... was identified as the vandalism suspect.”

Authorities began looking for Hotte, but could not find him, Fyad said.

“Investigators then learned Hotte had a pending court date on Monday... (and) Hotte was located at the Harbor Justice Center and arrested,” Fyad said.

Hotte spray-painted “white power” on the mural as well as the name of a white supremacist gang, prosecutors said.