Man Who Defaced Pride Crosswalk Ordered To Pen Pulse Nightclub Essay

The 20-year-old Florida man who defaced a newly-installed gay pride crosswalk in Delray Beach has been ordered to write a 25-page essay on the Pulse nightclub shooting while he awaits sentencing. Alexander Jerich pleaded guilty to criminal mischief and reckless driving in March for the June 2021 incident for “burning out” his tires on the crosswalk causing thousands in damages. From the Palm Beach Post:

The 20-year-old Jerich hung his head and cried after hearing his father recount his son’s struggles in school, his inability to make friends and his disappointment in his son’s behavior.

When the tall, husky young man finally composed himself, he apologized for his actions but offered no real explanation for them.

“I’ve had problems in the past with fitting in,” Jerich said haltingly. “I was just trying to fit in and be accepted.”

“This is not the person I was expecting,” Judge Suskauer said.

The founder and president of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council had pushed for a year-long sentence, but Judge Suskauer said he needed more time to decide an appropriate punishment.

I’m not sure how destroying a Pride crosswalk would help the 20-year-old “fit in,” but there you have it. Jerich will learn his fate on June 8, but in the meantime, the judge gave Jerich a homework assignment. Since Jerich seemed to have little understanding of the meaning of the rainbow-colored gay pride mural he defaced the judge ordered him to write a 25-page essay on the 2016 massacre at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando. Suskauer told Jerich to share his own views about the 49 deaths that occurred that night and why such tragedies occur. “I want your own brief summary of why people are so hateful and why people lash out against the gay community,” he said. The judge hinted he has little interest in putting Jerich behind bars for a year. Assistant State Attorney Richard Clausi suggested a 30-day sentence which Suskauer didn’t dismiss as a possibility. Suskauer also wants Jerich to perform community service for an organization that serves the LGBTQ community. But Rand Hoch, president of the Human Rights Council, told Suskauer that none of the groups he deals with are interested in having Jerich as a volunteer as they view the incident as a hate crime. “They don’t want the defendant anywhere near our organization or our missions,” Hoch said. The gay community was outraged when the mural was defaced two days after it was unveiled last year during Pride Month. His group and the AIDS Healthcare Foundation ponied up the $16,720 to create the streetscape that celebrates the gay community. Jerich was ordered to pay the  $2,000 to have the mural repainted.