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Marin County prosecutors have filed felony vandalism charges against five people accused of tearing down a statue outside of a San Rafael church last month, but the suspects will not face hate crime charges recommended by police. The five suspects caused at least $10,000 in damage in connection with the Oct. 12 incident at St. Raphael Catholic Church on Fifth Avenue, according to a complaint filed Thursday by the Marin County District Attorneys Office. Under state law, vandalism is considered a felony if the damage exceeds $400. The incident occurred during an Indigenous Peoples Day demonstration outside of the church. Police said a small group of protesters painted and destroyed the churchs statue of Junipero Serra, an 18th-century Catholic priest who founded nine of Californias missions. Melissa Aguilar, Mayorgi Nadieska Delgadille, Victoria Eva Montano Pena, Moira Van de Walker and Andrew Lester Mendle each face one count of felony vandalism. San Rafael police arrested Aguilar, Delgadille, Montano Pena and Van de Walker at the scene of the incident. Ines Shiam Gardilcic, who was also arrested, was not named in the complaint. Police recommended charges for all five people who were arrested, in addition to Mendle, who was later identified as a suspect. Police Chief Diana Bishop said her department recommended a charge of vandalism to a place of worship for each of the six suspects. She noted that such a charge is considered a hate crime. In a letter to District Attorney Lori Frugoli last month, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone urged prosecutors to follow the San Rafael Police Departments recommendation to pursue hate crime charges. I am asking you to press charges to the full extent of the law, Cordileone wrote. In a statement on Friday, Cordileone said Frugolis decision to charge the suspects was a breakthrough moment for Catholics. While a hate crime was not charged in this case, let us hope that
