Suspect in KKK Cross Plantings Gets Mental Test

A man accused of planting two charred crosses displaying Ku Klux Klan literature on dirt lots in Palmdale underwent a psychiatric evaluation on Monday.

Jose Angel Martinez, 33, of Palmdale, was arrested Sunday on suspicion of terrorizing the owner or occupant of a property, said Sgt. Vincent Burton of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Palmdale Station. Authorities believe Martinez, who they say has a history of bizarre behavior, may also be responsible for a cross planted on Dec. 7 across the street from the home of an African American family.

All three crosses were found within a square mile in Palmdale.

Despite indications that Martinez may have been mentally unstable, “in no way does it belittle what he did to the community,” said Darren Parker, president of the Antelope Valley Human Relations Task Force.

“It’s always a great disappointment and sadness when an individual chooses to express himself using symbols of hate,” Parker said.

Investigators said, however, they have not yet decided whether the incidents should be classified as hate crimes.

Martinez had recently exasperated city workers by posting handmade signs proclaiming such messages as “Don’t touch your hair because it hurts my feelings,” said Det. Steven Lankford.

“We’ve had some bizarre contacts with him, but never anything serious before,” Burton said.

After his arrest, Martinez told authorities he was Cuban and was not a Klan member. Martinez’s family told authorities he had a history of mental problems, said Lankford.

Martinez was held in lieu of $50,000 bail at County Jail, where he was in the psychiatric ward, Burton said. He is scheduled to be arraigned today.

Sheriff’s deputies on Sunday found a cross, about 4 feet high by 2 feet wide, in a dirt lot on 30th Street East and Avenue R, across from a convenience store, Burton said.

Cardboard nailed to the cross had been spray-painted with the letters “K.K.K.” and an attached flier explained why the white supremacy group used the burning cross as its symbol.

“The literature that’s on there refers directly to the KKK,” Burton said. The papers did not refer to a specific race, religion or ethnicity.

“It never once talked about hatred,” he said. “It was just a general statement.”

About three hours later, authorities found a 6-foot-high cross, also displaying information about the Klan, planted on a dirt lot a few blocks away.

All the crosses, including the one found on Dec. 7, were made of a charred horizontal piece of wood nailed to an unburned vertical piece, Lankford said.

About an hour after authorities took down the 6-foot cross, an off-duty Los Angeles Police Department officer spotted the suspect building another cross on the same dirt lot.

Sheriff’s deputies found Martinez a short while later, carrying a backpack with nails, a hammer and literature about the KKK.