Store Set Ablaze in Latest in Series of Hate Crimes : Thousand Oaks: Torched comic-book shop is desecrated with swastikas and anti-Semitic graffiti.

In what authorities are calling the latest in a series of hate crimes, a Thousand Oaks comic-book store was set ablaze Friday morning and the building was desecrated with swastikas and the phrase “Die Jew.”

The fire, which caused nearly $300,000 in damage to the store and three adjoining businesses, began at 12:40 a.m. at the Heroes and Legends comic-book store at 1165 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd.

“This is a tragedy of the first order,” said Rabbi Alan Greenbaum of Temple Adat Elohim, where three arson fires were reported in 1991. “This was an all-encompassing remark against a group of people.”

Myron Cohen-Ross, 59, who owns the Thousand Oaks store and another in Agoura Hills, said he has never had problems of this kind in the eight years he has been in business. “I get weird types of customers in here and we get along well,” he said. “It doesn’t make any sense to me.”

By late Friday, no suspects had been identified in the fire, which was being investigated by the Ventura County Fire Department and the Sheriff’s Department.

Sheriff’s Lt. Dante Honorico said the incident apparently was not linked to several smaller arson fires last year at Temple Adat Elohim in Thousand Oaks.

The temple was also defaced with swastikas and anti-Semitic graffiti in 1990 and 1991.

Cheryl Azair, associate director of the Los Angeles office of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith said the fire Friday “confirms a trend that we have seen in the last year that anti-Semitic incidents are more violent.”

An ADL study found that violent acts directed against synagogues, cemeteries and individuals had risen nationwide by 29% between 1990 and 1991.

“No community is immune from this kind of hate,” Azair said.

City Councilman Frank Schillo said the incident must have been committed by “a deranged person.”

However, Schillo said the facts are not all in and city officials should wait until the investigation is complete before coming to any conclusions. The crime does not automatically indicate that racism is on the increase in the city, he said.

“I feel that we have a good community here and there are some people that have some prejudices that have just gotten out of hand,” Schillo said. “ I don’t think it’s a major problem in our city.”

Inside the store Friday morning, surrounded by broken glass and the smell of burned paper, Cohen-Ross and his wife, Judith, walked across a floor of water-damaged magazines and photos.

They were sifting through the charred remains for salvageable merchandise, but even the comics encased in protective plastic covers were fused together. Eventually the couple had to give up their search for fear of the store’s roof caving in.

“I had irreplaceable collectibles,” Cohen-Ross said. “I had original artwork, gold albums, autographs. How do you replace all that?” The merchandise destroyed in the blaze was worth about $200,000, he said, adding that his insurance probably wouldn’t cover the entire loss.

Among the collection were original comic strips, signed first-edition books, and Disney and Hanna-Barbera animation cels.

Cohen-Ross, who has been collecting comic books since he was 6 years old, also lost valuable science-fiction pulp magazines that dated back to the 1930s.

The complex in which Heroes and Legends is located also houses an antique shop, an insurance agency and a hair salon.

“We never have things like this happen,” said Viola Baptiste, who owns the complex. “I feel so sorry for them.”

Errol Knowles, 42, showed up at Heroes and Legends on Friday morning to pick up the latest comic books. “I was stunned,” he said. “I thought, ‘This can’t be real.’ ”

While Cohen-Ross and investigators try to sort things out, Steve Rubenstein, president of the Thousand Oaks Chamber of Commerce, wants to see the community come out in support of the store owner.

“I am talking about organizing an activity where baseball players can donate cards to help him start up again,” Rubenstein said. “It is important that he reopen.”