Police arrested a California man for allegedly tearing bronze stars and plaques from memorials honoring fallen law enforcement officers and veterans across Solano County.
The Peace Officers Memorial located in Fairfield, California, was vandalized when stars and plaques honoring 21 law enforcement officers who lost their lives while serving were stolen, according to a Solano County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) statement. Plaques were allegedly also taken from the Veterans Memorial. Officials took Joshua Gonzales, 40, of Vallejo into custody on April 30 after a multi-agency team executed a search warrant at a home on the 200 block of Howard Avenue, the agency later announced on social media. Investigators allegedly found damaged memorial materials inside.
“As the detectives showed up on scene, actually heard the grinding taking place while they were setting up on the house to execute some search warrants,” SCSO Sheriff Brad DeWall told KCRA 3. “He was in the midst of either grinding up the names or cutting the material.” (RELATED: Police Honor Fallen Four-Legged Hero With Touching Tribute)
A first responder memorial outside Vallejo City Hall allegedly faced targeting, according to KCRA 3. “Anything that celebrates their fallen, it was all pried off the wall,” DeWall said Wednesday. “Nothing like this has ever happened in my days here. Nothing like this ever. I am outraged by the fact that someone would stoop so low to come and take a memorial star honoring that service and that sacrifice.”
The courthouse also suffered stolen plaques and the suspect attempted to steal one from the county justice center, DeWall said, CBS Sacramento reported.
Each star carried an estimated value of around $2,600, putting the total loss near $54,000, Ron Turner, a retired Vallejo officer who leads the 100 Club of Solano and Yolo Counties, told ABC 7. The organization assists spouses of lost officers with finances. Turner said the community’s members are “madder than hell, and they’re not going to take it anymore.”
Sgt. Rex Hawkins, the SCSO’s spokesman, told the New York Post that officers recovered “hundreds of pounds of cut metal from the memorial thefts.”
DeWall told KCRA 3 that authorities have not pinpointed a motive, raising the question of whether the alleged actions targeted law enforcement or the government specifically or was driven by the value of the materials.
Among the allegedly stolen stars was one honoring Kirk Griess, a California Highway Patrol motorcycle officer killed in the line of duty in 2018. His widow, Keri Griess, told KCRA 3, “It’s just disheartening that someone would live in such an evil world that people can just walk in and take it all away.”
Officials have charged Gonzales with grand theft, vandalism and narcotics possession, among other charges, according to booking records reviewed by KCRA 3. The annual memorial ceremony remains scheduled for May 13, CBS News Sacramento reported. A local business has crafted temporary replacement stars, according to KCRA 3.
The Daily Caller has reached out to Solano County Sheriff’s Office for comment.
Editor’s note: Article updated to include an additional statement from the Solano County Sheriff.
