SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane Police Department (SPD) made arrests Wednesday night after multiple teenagers were reported vandalizing the newly painted Pride crosswalk mural in front of Riverfront Park.
The mural was re-painted to repair previous damage sustained after someone lit the crosswalk mural on fire in May.
MORE ON THE RE-PAINTING: Downtown Spokane streets reopen after Pride crosswalk is repainted following last month's vandalism
Spokane Pride held a fundraiser to raise the money for the mural re-painting. According to Spokane Pride, they raised enough money to fully fund the repairs.
On May 16, SPD said someone vandalized the Pride crosswalk mural at approximately 1:30 a.m. According to police, video surveillance shows multiple people dumping liquid on the mural before setting it on fire.
TO READ MORE: 'Called vandalism, but it was hate' | Spokane city leaders condemn vandalism of downtown Pride mural
On Wednesday, SPD said they received a 911 call reporting multiple people on scooters causing damage to the mural.
According to court documents obtained by KREM 2, many witnesses sitting at the bar at O'Doherty's Irish Grille saw around four people on Lime Scooters riding over the Pride flag mural.
Kaylee Gaines McGee was one of those people at O'Doherty's who saw the group of teenagers using lime scooters to create skid marks on the mural.
"We see that you have done this thing, and " McGee said. "People don't just go and do that without intention. You don't destroy symbols without intention behind it."
Court documents show when one of the witnesses confronted the young teens, one of the minors shouted back "F*** you F*****" and "Go to Hell." A different witness also heard a suspect in the group say "F*****" according to court documents.
Court documents state that a different witness saw the teens revving and intentionally scooting their tires over the mural, the witness also took photos of two of the suspects with their phone.
After talking to witnesses and obtaining video surveillance, SPD detained the suspects thirty-four minutes after the initial call near Washington and Spokane Falls Blvd.
19-year-old Ruslan V. V. Turko and two minors were arrested for first-degree malicious mischief.
Turko appeared in court Thursday. Prosecutors requested a $15,000 bond due to the estimated cost of re-painting the mural.
Turko was released on his own recognizance. He was also released on the condition that he doesn't go near the crosswalk or the other teenagers.
On Friday, Lime released a statement on the vandalism. The statement read:
“All of us at Lime condemn these vile acts in no uncertain terms. At a time when our teams at Lime are beginning pride celebrations around the globe, it is disturbing to see the hate taking place in Spokane. Lime is taking immediate action against the perpetrators and doubling down on our support of Spokane Pride and Spokane Arts. Lime is proud to put time and resources into celebrating Pride Month each year and supporting LGBTQ+ organizations working to uplift and protect queer people in cities around the world. We will not let the hateful few spoil the joy of Pride Month in Spokane, and are grateful for those working to make Spokane more welcoming for all.”
In addition, Lime is also immediately instituting a no-ride zone around the mural to protect it from any future vandalism attempts.
More to Every Story
Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed legislation to update the state's hate crime law to include the defacement of public property back in March.
The updated law went into effect Thursday, June 6, meaning it is a felony to deface a public symbol of Pride in Washington state.
The original bill was introduced by Sen. Andy Billig in response to the vandalism of LGBTQ+ landmarks in Spokane in October 2023. The legislation reportedly closed a loophole in the state's current law by redefining the hate crime statute to include destruction and vandalism of public property.
Under the law, the crime is punishable by up to 5 years in jail and up to under $10,000 fine.
DOWNLOAD THE KREM SMARTPHONE APP
DOWNLOAD FOR IPHONE HERE | DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID HERE
HOW TO ADD THE KREM+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KREM in the Channel Store.
Fire TV: Search for "KREM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
Apple TV: Search "Spokane News from KREM" in the Apple store or follow this link.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email webspokane@krem.com.