SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — Two couples in their early twenties now face a hate crime charge for vandalizing and stealing from a Spokane Valley church in June.
There are plenty of signs at Veradale United Church of Christ; handmade placards with messages of love, acceptance, and belonging. They stand in direct opposition to the signs left behind by the four suspected vandals nearly nine months ago.
"It's short for Leviticus chapter 20 verse 13, which says it's ok to kill gay men and you're not responsible if you kill a gay person," said Pastor Rev. Gen Heywood when she spoke to KREM 2 News days after the crime. "That's the way they read it. It's read out of context. It's read without understanding that it's actually not about a loving relationship."
The four suspects, captured on a neighbor's security video, sprayed Lev 20:13 on the church lawn with diesel. Heywood found the message in the browned, dead grass the next day. The damage, according to court records, was estimated at $500.
Katherine Blycker, John Dawson Rhodes, Brigid Shannon and Jacob Easton each face a hate crime charge according to court documents. They were arraigned Wednesday.
The charges were filed in mid-February, months after investigators first tracked down the suspects by linking Blycker to a suspect vehicle seen in security footage.
Investigators say in August, Blycker admitted during an interview with Spokane Valley police she was involved; she named her boyfriend and the other couple, reportedly telling police one of the boys carried what she believed was gasoline in a weed sprayer.
Blycker reportedly told investigators the verse sprayed onto the grass had to do with “Christians hating LGBTQ, which she said wasn't true and she regrets the situation."
An affidavit also shows she told police the group stole pride flags from the church and threw them away. The other three suspects didn't speak to police, cancelling scheduled interviews with investigators.
The church quickly replaced some of the stolen flags. Heywood said she didn't want the vandals' hate to overshadow the church's message of acceptance.
"As a human being, our faith says you can change," she said in July.
Under Washington's current hate crime law, vandalism of private property such as the church is a Class C felony. Thursday Washington's legislature passed a bill which will amend the law to include vandalism of public property; the legislation is on its way to Governor Jay Inslee.
The amendment was spurred by vandalism of pride crosswalks across Spokane.
The four young adults accused of vandalism at Veradale are expected to go to trial in late May.
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