Florida man to be charged with vandalism of 2 synagogues
(JTA) — A Florida man is being charged in connection with the vandalism of two Reform synagogues in Sarasota.
Victor Martinez, 21, was named by the Sarasota Country Sheriff’s Office as the previously unidentified man who spray-painted swastikas and hate messages on Temple Sinai and Temple Emanu-El earlier this month. He also has been implicated in a vandalism attack on Temple Emanu-El in April, the Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
All of the incidents were captured on security footage and by security cameras at a nearby ATM.
Warrants for Martinez’s arrest were issued Wednesday, according to the statement.
Martinez, who was placed at the scenes of the incidents using cellphone records, faces three counts of criminal mischief by defacing and damaging a synagogue, all classified as felony hate crimes. He is at a secure medical facility pending his arrest, according to the statement.
The Temple Sinai campus was extensively vandalized in the July 15 attack, including many walls made of porous Jerusalem stone, making the removal of the messages difficult. In April, swastikas were spray-painted on the doors of Temple Emanu El, which was again vandalized on July 15.
The post Florida man will be charged with vandalism of 2 Reform synagogues in Sarasota appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO