ORLANDO, Fla. — A driver who admitted to defacing an LGBTQ street mural in Delray Beach must write an essay about the hate and violence that gay, trans and queer people face, a judge has ordered.
Alexander Jerich, 20, of Lake Worth Beach, is required to write a 25-page essay about the 49 people killed in the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, the families they left behind and the origins of hate against the LGBTQ community.
Judge Scott Suskauer will decide if and how much jail time Jerich will serve at a hearing in June, which is Pride Month. Jerich broke down at a recent court hearing, crying several times, including when his father spoke on his behalf, and when he read an apology letter. It was the first time he’s spoken about the incident publicly.
“First I’d like to apologize for my actions. Sorry to the LGBTQ community for this act I’ve committed,” he said. “In no way, shape or form did I mean to hurt ... anyone.”
He apologized to the gay community, the city of Delray Beach and the workers who painted the streetscape, saying he succumbed to peer pressure and that he’s not a hateful person.
His attorney said it was a momentary lapse in judgment: “Those 14 seconds don’t represent him.”
Jerich pleaded guilty last month to criminal mischief over $1,000 and reckless driving with damage to property after he burned skid marks into a gay pride streetscape last year.
The intersection at Northeast First Street and Northeast Second Avenue in Delray Beach had been painted in rainbow colors as part of an effort to celebrate Pride Month, an international recognition of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer people.
Last year, one day after the Pride Month display was unveiled, a set of skid marks defaced the brightly colored artwork. Video of the incident posted on social media shows a pickup truck doing a tire burnout across the intersection as other drivers honk their horns.
Jerich was among drivers who participated in a birthday rally for former President Donald Trump, whose birthday was the following day, on June 14. The route from Delray Marketplace on Lyons Road to Atlantic Avenue downtown was preplanned, according to the arrest report.
Jerich was charged in June of 2021 with criminal mischief over $1,000, reckless driving and evidence of prejudice, which enhances the charge to a felony.
Jerich’s attorney is asking for three years of probation with the possibility of termination of probation after a year and a half, among other terms.
Jerich’s attorney, Robert Pasch, said restitution has been fully paid to cover the damage.
Rand Hoch is the president of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council, a local nonprofit organization that works to end discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.
He asked the judge to sentence Jerich to a year in prison and not to withhold adjudication on either charge, saying Jerich shouldn’t be allowed to vote or own a gun; two punishments that come along with a felony conviction in Florida. When the judge asked Hoch if the members of his organization supported that request, he said many of their members wanted harsher penalties and that their request was a compromise.
Hoch said the essay requirement was also a good start and an opportunity for education.
“I think it’ll be a good lesson for him,” Hoch said after the hearing. “Will he learn anything from it? Who knows? ... We’ll see.”
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