Historic building vandals punished

Courthouse taggers can avoid convictions by writing essays and paying restitution for handprints

Five people accused of vandalizing the 120-year-old Riverside County courthouse in downtown Riverside with green handprints will receive a self-taught history lesson as part of a diversion program that will allow them to escape a vandalism conviction for causing thousands of dollars in damage.

Alexander Jacob Castro, Alexandria Ty Fite, Elise Saramarielle Kelder and Oliver Edu Solares Herrera were among a dozen people arrested in July 2022 after investigators say they used green paint to leave handprints on walls, windows and pillars of the Historic Courthouse.

Aida Yagmur Aston and Kamile Dincsoy were charged with committing similar offenses that were perpetrated previously.

All pleaded not guilty except for Dincsoy, who has a warrant out for her arrest, court records show.

They were part of the “Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights” protest held on the evening of July 30, 2022. A Riverside County sheriff’s deputy wrote in a court filing that he counted 100 handprints on the ornate courthouse, which is modeled after the Grand Palais in Paris and is on the Riverside County Historical Commission’s list of historic landmarks.

The defendants were originally charged with felonies, but the District Attorney’s Office agreed to reduce them to misdemeanors, John Hall, a DA’S spokesman, said Friday.

But Superior Court Judge Jason Armand went beyond that, over the objection of the DA’S Office, and granted Aston, Castro, Fite, Kelder and Solares Herrera a diversion program that if completed, will result in no conviction at all.

They are each required to write one essay on three subjects: The history of the courthouse, important rulings made there (Cheat sheet: There’s

a giant display about one of those cases in the hallway) and the significance of former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’connor. (Hint: She was a first.)

At least one defendant was given these instructions: The essay must be 10 pages in length, not be generated by artificial intelligence, typed in a 12-point font and doublespaced. The essays are due on various dates this spring.

Each defendant must also perform 100 hours of community service for an unspecified nonprofit organization.

Armand also ordered the defendants to pay a combined restitution of $16,679.24, Hall said.

The District Attorney’s Office wanted the defendants to have at least a misdemeanor conviction on their records as a result of their actions.

“Our office agreed that a reduction to misdemeanor charges was appropriate if defendants made full restitution for the damage they caused,” Hall said. “Our objection was to the grant of diversion instead.”

The vandalism also led to a civil lawsuit.

Riverside City Councilmember Clarissa Cervantes sued Sheriff Chad Bianco for libel in September 2022 over his social media posts that alleged Cervantes supported the vandalism at the July 30 protest.

On Facebook later the same night, Bianco wrote that “a lot” of people had said in private messages that a councilwoman he identified as Cervantes was present at the protest “in support.”

Bianco added: “Shame on the Riverside city councilwoman for supporting the defacing of our courthouse.”

Cervantes said she was in the area that night and saw the commotion, asked a police officer what was happening and then left.

Bianco is fighting the lawsuit; the next hearing is scheduled for April 9.