The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office has filed felony hate crime charges against a man accused of spray-painting homophobic slurs on a Castro neighborhood flower shop and punching a resident who tried to intervene.
District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced several felony charges, including assault, against 39-year-old Hans Herman Haken in connection with the May 16 incident. Prosecutors are also alleging that the felonies constitute hate crimes.
Haken was arraigned on the charges Thursday and ordered to remain in custody until a preliminary hearing next month.
According to authorities and witnesses, the incident began outside Chartreuse by Rojé, a flower shop in the city’s prominent LGBTQ+ neighborhood. Jeffrey Dumlao, the shop’s owner, said a white Cadillac Escalade belonging to Haken had been parked outside the storefront for hours. At some point, an unknown individual allegedly threw eggs at the vehicle’s windshield.
The vandalism apparently angered Haken, who allegedly began spray-painting a homophobic message on the shop’s exterior wall.
Justin Donnelly, who lives above the flower shop, heard the commotion from his apartment.
“I heard the sound of a spray paint can shaking and saw him spray painting on the wall,” Donnelly said. “And I decided for whatever reason that I wasn’t going to put up with that.”
When Donnelly asked him to stop, Haken allegedly confronted him and accused him of throwing the eggs. Dumlao noted that bystanders defended Donnelly at the scene, telling Haken that Donnelly was not involved in the egging.
Donnelly said he took a photograph of the SUV to report it to the police, which prompted Haken to punch him. Haken then sped away, striking a parked car as he fled.
Both Dumlao and Donnelly expressed relief over the criminal charges and gratitude for the community’s swift response in helping identify the suspect.
“I’m just really grateful that the District Attorney’s office and the police are taking this really seriously,” Donnelly said. “The fact is that something like this can happen anywhere. But, in San Francisco we don’t stand for it. And we deal with it, so that makes me feel good.”
Jenkins reiterated the city’s stance on hate-motivated violence following the arraignment.
“This is a city where we protect our residents,” Jenkins said. “We protect our visitors. And we will do everything that is necessary to do so. And I think this investigation proves that, I think our charges prove that.”