STAINts and sinners
St. Pat vandals busted
Two Westchester County teens have been arrested and charged with defacing St. Patrick’s Cathedral with graffiti during protests and looting last month.
College student Anaya Diaz, 18, and a 17-year-old, whose name is being withheld due to her age, were charged with criminal mischief and making graffiti for spray-painting profanities on an exterior wall of the Fifth Avenue church, according to cops.
Diaz’s defense lawyer, Damien Brown, said she has no criminal record and, in addition to her studies, works in retail.
“She’s a young lady who is in college and has a B-plus average,” Brown said. “Without stating whether or not she did anything wrong, I believe that everyone can understand young people getting swept up in emotion.”
He added, “I don’t believe the Catholic Church would be looking to crucify her.”
Diaz turned herself in after police went to her house in Mohegan Lake. Authorities picked up the 17-year-old Wednesday at her home in Ossining and she’s being charged as a juvenile.
On May 30, they allegedly wrote “F--k F--k” in red letters on an exterior wall at 51st Street and Fifth Avenue. On an adjacent wall, the alleged vandals scrawled “BLM” — for Black Lives Matter — along with “NYPDK” in red letters and “No justice no peace” in black letters.
They were each released without bail at their arraignments Thursday night.
Yadir Avila Rosas, 26, of Queens allegedly served as the pair’s “getaway driver” and was arrested, police said, but the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute him.
The New York Archdiocese did not respond to a request for comment.