(Image source from: Los Angeles Times)

A man from Los Angeles has been sentenced to 16 months in prison for vandalizing a gurdwara, place of assembly and worship for Sikhs, in 2017, according to a media report.

In addition to the sentence, the 29-year-old Artyom Manukyan also faces a penalty under a prior arson case, Los Angeles Times reported.

In August 2017, Manukyan scrawled two hateful writings outside the Hollywood Sikh Temple on Vermont Avenue in Los Feliz, the Los Angeles Police Department said.

                       (Image source from: NBC Los Angeles)

Earlier, police were considering hate crime charges against Manukyan, saying the messages were designed as a threat to the Sikh community. He pleaded no contest to felony vandalism of religious property in August 2018.   

Prior to the 2017 incident, Manukyan was arrested on suspicion of burglary, grand theft auto and making criminal threats, the report said.

In the year 2016, the year before the vandalism, California witnessed a 11.5 percent increase in hate crimes, according to the California Department of Justice.

By Sowmya Sangam