Man gets jail for writing racist graffiti on refugees' homes

CONCORD, N.H. -- A New Hampshire man has admitted scrawling racist graffiti on the homes of four African refugee families and will spend the next year in county jail.

Raymond Stevens, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to criminal mischief - a special felony because his conduct is considered a hate crime.

A judge rejected his plea for probation or to serve the sentence at home. Stevens had faced up to 30 years in prison.

Police say he wrote hateful messages in black permanent marker on the homes of refugee families in the same Concord neighborhood in 2011 and 2012. Writings included: "Go back to your hell and leave us alone."

Stevens was arrested in October 2013.

He shot himself in the head a month after his arrest in a failed suicide attempt.