(Dec. 31, 2015) Nearly a full year after a nighttime vandalism spree stunned residents in Berlin, many of the victims are still waiting for meaningful restitution.
More than 30 cars, three businesses and several items belonging to the town were defaced during the Jan. 26 incident, when instances of graffiti ranged from spray-painted door handles, to vulgar images and coarse, racist language, to diagonal lines running across the entirely of vehicles.
Vandals also tagged alleys, the backs of several stores and town electric meters in and around the downtown area.
Reports of damaged vehicles began at approximately 10 p.m., according to the Berlin Police Department. Additional calls later led police to discover more damaged vehicles off Broad Street.
Two town officials, District 2 Councilmember Lisa Hall and Economic and Community Development Director Ivy Wells, were affected by the incident, along with Worcester County Tourism Director Lisa Challenger and Worcester County Department of Environmental Programs Director Bob Mitchell.
At the time, Berlin Police Chief Arnold Downing commented, “We have cars that are totaled.”
Several stores near the apex were closed on the following morning, while others, who opened, soldiered on in shock.
“I was surprised,” Iris Phillips, a receptionist at the Dentist’s Office on Pitts Street, said. “I haven’t seen anything like that before here. This is such a nice little town.”
Immediately following the incident, Berlin Mayor Gee Williams called on the perpetrators to turn themselves and attempt to make amends.
“In an ideal world, those people would just turn themselves in and say they’re sorry, and then maybe we could get them involved with community service work because there is so much to do,” he said. “There’s an infinite number of things that young people can do to help the community instead of participating in these pointless acts of vandalism.”
In February, two juveniles and one adult, 18-year-old Ocean City resident Jordan Alexandria Denton, were charged with 39 counts of malicious destruction with the damage total estimate at more than $11,000, and one count of theft valued at less than $100.
The theft charge was connected with the spray paint itself, taken from a nearby Wal-Mart shortly before the incident occurred.
One of the juveniles, Nick Bonser, was eventually charged as an adult, along with Denton. He was 17 at the time of the incident, but turned 18 mere weeks after the spree.
A Berlin Police Department press release said the investigation revealed 36 separate victims, including the Town of Berlin, which had one vehicle, 10 electric meters and four trash cans damaged.
Three buildings and 33 additional cars were spray painted during the incident that spanned a dozen streets. Police said victim statements, citizen tips, interviews and reviews of surveillance cameras led law enforcement to the suspects.
Downing added he was “quite certain we have everybody” involved in the incident.
On June 19, at Worcester County District Court in Snow Hill, Bonser and Denton both pleaded guilty to 22 counts of malicious destruction of property. They were ordered to pay $8,843.06 in restitution in total, complete 150 hours of community service each, and write letters of apology to the town of Berlin.
The third defendant in the case pleaded guilty to all 40 charges levied during a separate hearing in juvenile court, and was also required to pay restitution, serve 150 hours of community service and write a letter to the town.
Assistant State’s Attorney William McDermott took the lead during the trial.
“Investigations led [Berlin] Detective [Jason] Burnett to Wal-Mart, located in Berlin, where he was able to obtain video surveillance depicting all three suspects … entering the Wal-Mart prior to the acts of vandalism, all participants, smiling as they entered, picking up several cans of spray paint, all matching the types of spray paint used in the vandalisms, and exiting the store without attempting to pay for them,” McDermott said.
Denton and Bonser, McDermott said, gave oral and written confessions to acts of vandalism including town property, Renaissance Plaza, Evergreen Masonic Lodge and Town Center Antiques in Berlin, and vehicles belonging to several Berlin residents, the Wicomico County State’s Attorney’s Office and Nestle Dryer’s Ice Cream.
Judge Gerald V. Purnell accepted the pleas of both defendants and found both guilty.
“I’m going to sentence them to what the state has asked and what you’ve agreed to,” he said. “It seems to be fair and balanced to both sides.”
McDermott met with several of the victims following the hearing, telling them the 450 total hours of community service and the amount of restitution required within 90 days was virtually impossible, and that three-to-five years of supervised probation would likely be imposed on each defendant in addition to the court’s original ruling.
“For all that has to be forthcoming in 90 days, I can tell you that it won’t happen,” he said. “It’s going to take years for them to do that. The two of them, at 18 years old, just walked out with 22 convictions. It’s pretty awful when you’re that young to walk out with that many convictions and a $9,000 tag and 450 hours of community service. What they did was awful [and] the price they’re going to pay is pretty close to what happened.”
McDermott said he previously told several of the victims that the likelihood of incarceration was low based on the ages and prior records of the defendants.
“I wasn’t expecting them to go out in handcuffs, but I’ll tell you now that if they violate their probation, i.e., they don’t pay their money or they don’t do their community service, we’re going to be here,” he said. “I will be a dog with a bone … We will be here for violations of probations, and I will be asking for jail time.”
After 90 days had passed, Bonser and Denton both received extensions to delay restitution until the end of a two-year probation period.
Mark A. Vernarelli, director of community engagement with the Maryland Department of Public Safety & Correctional Services, told the Gazette in December that both had paid at least some restitution and performed some community service. He added that each had written a letter of apology to the town, although Berlin Town Administrator Laura Allen and a number of other town officials said they had not seen one.
Information about the third defendant in the trial, a juvenile, was not available, and Vernarelli said he could not disclose the exact amount of money paid or service hours completed.
“Our parole and probation agent is working with them to make sure their court-ordered conditions are satisfied,” he said, adding that both Bonser and Denton were under supervision until 2017.
As of early December, Challenger said she had also not seen a letter and had received just $27 in restitution from Bonser and Denton.
Mitchell said he had not received any restitution, while another resident, who asked not to be named, claimed to have received two checks for $1.22 each.
More than 30 cars, three businesses and several items belonging to the town were defaced during the Jan. 26 incident, when instances of graffiti ranged from spray-painted door handles, to vulgar images and coarse, racist language, to diagonal lines running across the entirely of vehicles.
Vandals also tagged alleys, the backs of several stores and town electric meters in and around the downtown area.
Reports of damaged vehicles began at approximately 10 p.m., according to the Berlin Police Department. Additional calls later led police to discover more damaged vehicles off Broad Street.
Two town officials, District 2 Councilmember Lisa Hall and Economic and Community Development Director Ivy Wells, were affected by the incident, along with Worcester County Tourism Director Lisa Challenger and Worcester County Department of Environmental Programs Director Bob Mitchell.
At the time, Berlin Police Chief Arnold Downing commented, “We have cars that are totaled.”
Several stores near the apex were closed on the following morning, while others, who opened, soldiered on in shock.
“I was surprised,” Iris Phillips, a receptionist at the Dentist’s Office on Pitts Street, said. “I haven’t seen anything like that before here. This is such a nice little town.”
Immediately following the incident, Berlin Mayor Gee Williams called on the perpetrators to turn themselves and attempt to make amends.
“In an ideal world, those people would just turn themselves in and say they’re sorry, and then maybe we could get them involved with community service work because there is so much to do,” he said. “There’s an infinite number of things that young people can do to help the community instead of participating in these pointless acts of vandalism.”
In February, two juveniles and one adult, 18-year-old Ocean City resident Jordan Alexandria Denton, were charged with 39 counts of malicious destruction with the damage total estimate at more than $11,000, and one count of theft valued at less than $100.
The theft charge was connected with the spray paint itself, taken from a nearby Wal-Mart shortly before the incident occurred.
One of the juveniles, Nick Bonser, was eventually charged as an adult, along with Denton. He was 17 at the time of the incident, but turned 18 mere weeks after the spree.
A Berlin Police Department press release said the investigation revealed 36 separate victims, including the Town of Berlin, which had one vehicle, 10 electric meters and four trash cans damaged.
Three buildings and 33 additional cars were spray painted during the incident that spanned a dozen streets. Police said victim statements, citizen tips, interviews and reviews of surveillance cameras led law enforcement to the suspects.
Downing added he was “quite certain we have everybody” involved in the incident.
On June 19, at Worcester County District Court in Snow Hill, Bonser and Denton both pleaded guilty to 22 counts of malicious destruction of property. They were ordered to pay $8,843.06 in restitution in total, complete 150 hours of community service each, and write letters of apology to the town of Berlin.
The third defendant in the case pleaded guilty to all 40 charges levied during a separate hearing in juvenile court, and was also required to pay restitution, serve 150 hours of community service and write a letter to the town.
Assistant State’s Attorney William McDermott took the lead during the trial.
“Investigations led [Berlin] Detective [Jason] Burnett to Wal-Mart, located in Berlin, where he was able to obtain video surveillance depicting all three suspects … entering the Wal-Mart prior to the acts of vandalism, all participants, smiling as they entered, picking up several cans of spray paint, all matching the types of spray paint used in the vandalisms, and exiting the store without attempting to pay for them,” McDermott said.
Denton and Bonser, McDermott said, gave oral and written confessions to acts of vandalism including town property, Renaissance Plaza, Evergreen Masonic Lodge and Town Center Antiques in Berlin, and vehicles belonging to several Berlin residents, the Wicomico County State’s Attorney’s Office and Nestle Dryer’s Ice Cream.
Judge Gerald V. Purnell accepted the pleas of both defendants and found both guilty.
“I’m going to sentence them to what the state has asked and what you’ve agreed to,” he said. “It seems to be fair and balanced to both sides.”
McDermott met with several of the victims following the hearing, telling them the 450 total hours of community service and the amount of restitution required within 90 days was virtually impossible, and that three-to-five years of supervised probation would likely be imposed on each defendant in addition to the court’s original ruling.
“For all that has to be forthcoming in 90 days, I can tell you that it won’t happen,” he said. “It’s going to take years for them to do that. The two of them, at 18 years old, just walked out with 22 convictions. It’s pretty awful when you’re that young to walk out with that many convictions and a $9,000 tag and 450 hours of community service. What they did was awful [and] the price they’re going to pay is pretty close to what happened.”
McDermott said he previously told several of the victims that the likelihood of incarceration was low based on the ages and prior records of the defendants.
“I wasn’t expecting them to go out in handcuffs, but I’ll tell you now that if they violate their probation, i.e., they don’t pay their money or they don’t do their community service, we’re going to be here,” he said. “I will be a dog with a bone … We will be here for violations of probations, and I will be asking for jail time.”
After 90 days had passed, Bonser and Denton both received extensions to delay restitution until the end of a two-year probation period.
Mark A. Vernarelli, director of community engagement with the Maryland Department of Public Safety & Correctional Services, told the Gazette in December that both had paid at least some restitution and performed some community service. He added that each had written a letter of apology to the town, although Berlin Town Administrator Laura Allen and a number of other town officials said they had not seen one.
Information about the third defendant in the trial, a juvenile, was not available, and Vernarelli said he could not disclose the exact amount of money paid or service hours completed.
“Our parole and probation agent is working with them to make sure their court-ordered conditions are satisfied,” he said, adding that both Bonser and Denton were under supervision until 2017.
As of early December, Challenger said she had also not seen a letter and had received just $27 in restitution from Bonser and Denton.
Mitchell said he had not received any restitution, while another resident, who asked not to be named, claimed to have received two checks for $1.22 each.