Couple who defaced BLM mural in Martinez take deals in burglary and vandalism cases
MARTINEZ >> A Bay Area couple who were filmed painting over a Black Lives Matter mural in downtown Martinez — leading to protests and vandalism charges — have taken plea deals, court records show.
David Nelson, 54, and Nicole Anderson, 43, accepted deals for not just the vandalism charges, but burglary charges they were hit with while the vandalism case was pending. In that incident, they were charged with burglarizing a dead man's home and possessing methamphetamine.
Nelson pleaded no contest to a felony burglary count, as well as misdemeanor vandalism. He received 120 days in jail and two years of probation, records show.
Anderson pleaded no contest to misdemeanor vandalism and received 40 hours of community service, and a year of court probation. The remaining burglary and drug charges — as well as hate crime enhancements for the vandalism — were dismissed.
The deal ends a case that initially received national media coverage, led to death threats against the Contra Costa District Attorney and spurred protests in downtown Martinez. The mural was repainted in the aftermath of the defacement.
It all started with a viral video that captured Nelson and Anderson pulling up to the mural July 4, 2020 and pouring black paint on it, with Anderson beginning to use a roller to cover the “B” and “L” in “Black.” Nelson, wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat, shouted that they were doing it because they're “sick of this narrative” and that racism is a “leftist lie.”
The mural — painted in big yellow letters in front of the Wakefield Taylor Courthouse in Martinez — was created in a response to national outrage over the May 2020 murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis.
After the incident, Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton filed vandalism and hate crime charges against the couple, which their attorney called politically motivated. Nelson and Anderson were interviewed on Fox News by Tucker Carlson, where Nelson said he was offended by the Black Lives Matter “graffiti” because, “I don't agree with BLM.” They said it was Anderson's idea to paint over the mural.
Both Anderson and Nelson were out of custody with the vandalism charges pending. Then in early 2022 they were charged with burglarizing the Walnut Creek home of a dead man.
The burglary charges stemmed from a incident in December when a Contra Costa Sheriff's deputy pulled over Nelson near the area, searched his vehicle, and allegedly found property from the home, as well as about 80 grams of methamphetamine. Police served a search warrant at the couple's Martinez home and found more of the dead man's property, as well as about 120 grams of methamphetamine, according to authorities.