By John Pacenti
Delray Beach Commissioner Rob Long voiced outrage at “a sweetheart plea deal” for a Clearwater man who in February allegedly defaced the city’s rainbow gay pride intersection by leaving a skid mark through it.
“We’re not going to allow Delray Beach property to be vandalized and we’re not going to allow messages of hate toward marginalized citizens in our community to stand,” Long said at the Dec. 10 commission meeting.
Dylan Reese Brewer, charged with felony criminal mischief, will plead to a misdemeanor, pay a $5,000 fine and avoid any time behind bars, Long said.
Long said Brewer got “a sweetheart plea deal.” He said LGBTQ groups are crafting statements to voice opposition to a plea deal at a Jan. 8 court hearing.
“If something like this happens to the LGBTQ+ community, it could happen to our Jewish community, it could happen to our Haitian Caribbean community. It could happen to the African American community,” Long said.
Long had hoped that commissioners could get behind a unified statement opposing the plea deal but the matter was not on the Dec. 17 meeting agenda.
Brewer will also serve 12 months of probation, perform 75 hours of community service and be required to take an eight-hour anger management course under the plea deal, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
The 19-year-old will plead guilty to misdemeanor charges of criminal mischief and reckless driving with injury to a person or property.
Brewer’s attorney, Scott Sale, said he had no comment on the potential plea.
The pride intersection is at Northeast First Street and Northeast Second Avenue.
The February incident was the second time the intersection was defaced by burning out of a vehicle. Both had a connection to former President Donald Trump, who is now president-elect and set to be sworn into office again in January.
Alexander Jerich pleaded guilty to felony criminal mischief in 2022 after vandalizing the intersection while driving in a birthday rally for Trump. Video of the February incident showed a Trump flag flying from the back of Brewer’s pickup.
The plea deal sparked a war of words between Rand Hoch — founder of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council — and State Attorney Dave Aronberg.
Hoch issued a statement saying, “I cannot fathom why Dave Aronberg cut such a sweet deal for Brewer. It just makes no sense legally.”
Aronberg retorted that Hoch was showing “extreme ignorance” because he never served as a prosecutor.
“Our office will keep standing strong against hate in our community, and will continue to urge the (state) Legislature to give us additional tools to maximize punishment of offenders,” Aronberg said in a statement.
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