Pictured is Kiano Saechao. Courtesy photo

BUTTE COUNTY, CA (MPG) - On Dec. 18 in Butte County Superior Court, a Chico man was sentenced to jail time and probation on a felony hate crime charge for vandalizing a local television news reporter’s camera.

Kiano Saechao, 23, appeared before a local judge, who ordered him to serve two years of formal probation with specific conditions, including anger management classes, community service, and $2,200 in restitution for damage to the reporter’s camera. The judge also ordered him to serve 212 days in Butte County Jail, but credited him with the 106 days he had already served awaiting trial and sentencing, allowing his release today.  

Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said the hate crime charge stemmed from a Sept. 4, 2025 incident at approximately 6 a.m., when local Action News Now reporter Nathan Espindula was finishing up a live on-air segment in the parking lot of the Elks Lodge in Chico. 

Espindula reported that while filming in the Elks Lodge parking lot, he saw and heard Saechao approaching. Espindula then heard Saechao making racial slurs toward him. Espindula immediately entered his vehicle, but in his haste, left his camera equipment outside. Espindula then used his cell phone to record Saechao and the comments Saechao continued to make outside Espindula’s vehicle.

When Espindula tried to leave the scene in his vehicle, he inadvertently ran over a scooter Saechao had placed under Espindula’s car. This further enraged Saechao, who then walked over to Espindula’s video camera and knocked it off its tripod, causing extensive damage to the camera’s electronics. 

Ramsey said that hate has no place in this community and that his office will continue to hold accountable those who seek to victimize people solely because of their perceived differences.

“No matter someone’s background, no one is above the law, nor beneath its protection.”