A driver defaced a Pride street mural during a Trump birthday rally. He turned himself in

On June 12, the city of Delray Beach held a ceremony to unveil its LGBTQ Pride Streetscape painting on the intersection of Northeast First Street and Second Avenue.

The crosswalk was painted in rainbow colors in honor of June’s Pride Month.

Three days later, a Delray Beach officer on patrol saw two black tire skid marks, about 15 feet across the painting, that “appeared as if the driver intentionally spun the vehicle’s tires to cause the damage,” police wrote on an arrest affidavit Thursday.

According to Delray Beach Police, “Alexander Jerich was seen by witnesses, doing what appeared to be an intentional ‘burnout’ with his vehicle over the LGBTQ pride crosswalk on Monday, June 14, at the intersection of NE 1st Street and NE 2nd Avenue. This caused the vehicle to create significant damage to the streetscape painting.”

The same day the officer saw the damage, an anonymous resident called Delray Beach police to say they had video on their cellphone of the driver burning rubber into the pavement.

The video, which had gone viral on social media, was forwarded to a police sergeant investigating the case.

On Thursday, the 19-year-old man police say was driving the white 2018 Chevy pickup truck in the video turned himself in at the station.

Police make arrest

That man, Alexander Michael Jerich, agreed to do so after police contacted him, according to the arrest report. Police used the license plate to trace the truck to its owner, Jerich’s 49-year-old father. Alexander Jerich lives at the same Lake Worth address. According to Delray Beach police, a witness came forward Wednesday to give a statement that helped identify the suspect.

Jerich was arrested and charged with criminal mischief over $1,000 for “willfully and maliciously” committing an act of vandalism to the Pride streetscape. Jerich was also charged with evidence of prejudice and reckless driving, according to Delray Beach Police.

Jerich was booked into Palm Beach County Jail and released Thursday after paying $1,000 bail.

What the video shows

According to the arrest report and court records, the witness said he was attending a President Trump Birthday Rally on Monday at a meeting point at the Delray Beach Marketplace on West Atlantic Avenue and Lyons Road. A route list was handed out to participants.

The witness said he was two cars ahead of the white Chevy truck and had stopped his car on Northeast First Street facing west. The witness told police he heard another man scream to the driver of the Chevy “something to the effect of: ‘Adam, tear up that gay intersection.’ ”

The witness said he turned to look and saw the Chevy driver — whom he said he did not know personally — and described him to officers. He also pointed out the Chevy had one blue “Trump flag” leaning off the tailgate, the arrest report said.

The video shows the truck, as described, screeching its tires, across the intersection, leaving behind smoke and solid black skid marks.

Mural dedicated to Pulse victims

Nicholas Coppola, a member of the Palm Beach County LGBTQ Community Center who helped bring the rainbow artwork to the city, told the Miami Herald he was not surprised the incident occurred.

“I’m very disappointed it happened but happy that they caught the culprit,” Coppola, 56, said. “I keep saying, sadly, it was almost expected but I know for 100% surety that this is not representative of the people of Delray Beach. That’s one thing I always want to accentuate — the amazing support we get from the city Commission, from the mayor to the police to the fire department, to everyone.

The Streetscape mural was approved in December 2020 by city officials at a cost of $16,720, according to the public works department. It was dedicated to the 49 lives lost in the Pulse nightclub shootings five years ago. The street painting, which covers the entire intersection, took several workers four days to complete.

“I’m not surprised it was a person from outside the city but also not surprised this was part of a Trump parade,” Coppola added. “Sadly, a tone has been set. Almost like these people have been given approval and emboldened. ... But there’s a blessing in every bad thing that happens and we are witnessing this blessing. People are coming together, they are wanting to fix this, to make it right with words of encouragement and words of support from monetary to their presence. So many good things can come from and that’s what I want to focus on.”

Cost of the installation

“Kudos to the Delray Beach Police Department for swiftly identifying and arresting this hateful criminal,” Palm Beach County Human Rights Council president and founder Rand Hoch said in a statement obtained by CBS12 News.

PBCHRC posted video it had obtained to its Facebook page.

“PBCHRC has requested the charges include defacing a memorial — a recently enacted law which would require this crime to be treated as a felony. If convicted of this offense, the perpetrator would be responsible for reimbursing the City of Delray Beach for the cost of repairing the damages in addition to the severe penalties for committing a felony,” Hoch’s statement said.

According to Michael Karali, deputy director of Public Works for the City of Delray Beach who oversaw the installation of the intersection mural, the vendor, Camilucci Signs of Boynton Beach, attempted to scrub the tire marks from the street but was unable to remove the black skid marks. The tires did too much damage to the paint.

“More extensive measures will be needed to rectify it as well as city resources and road closures,” according to Delray Beach police’s report.