Oct 1
Charges advance against man in pink triangle vandalism case
John Ferrannini READ TIME: 3 MIN.
A San Francisco judge ruled that charges will go forward against a 19-year-old man accused of vandalizing the pink triangle installation atop Twin Peaks during Pride Month in June. The judge’s decision followed a preliminary hearing September 30 in San Francisco Superior Court.
As the Bay Area Reporter previously reported, Lester Bamacajeronimo was charged with a felony count of vandalism in the amount of over $400, and two other counts of possession of graffiti tools and resisting arrest.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins told the B.A.R. her office opted not to charge a hate crime in this case because, in her words, Bamacajeronimo “was unaware of what the pink triangle represented and he was trying to be artistic in modifying it.”
At the preliminary hearing in Department 12, Bamacajeronimo’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Sarah Gabriele Hashemi, told Judge Cecilia P. Castellanos that Bamacajeronimo, currently a high school student, should not have to carry the weight of a felony charge for the rest of his life. She asked that it be reduced to a misdemeanor.
“He has no previous criminal history,” Hashemi pointed out. “I do think that’s been impressed upon him, the seriousness of this conduct.”
Hashemi said it would be beneficial if her client volunteered with local LGBTQ organizations.
“The DA’s office did not charge this as a hate crime,” Hashemi said. “This is a crime of ignorance.”
Assistant District Attorney Patrick McKuin, who’s prosecuting the case, asked the judge not to make that call herself.
“That may be appropriate,” McKuin said. “But it should be part of a negotiated disposition.”
Castellanos said whether Bamacajeronimo knew that the pink triangle was the symbol LGBTQ people had to wear in German concentration camps during World War II was not material to whether a felony charge should go forward. Hashemi claims he wanted to turn it into the symbol for the comic book hero Superman.
Patrick Carney, a gay man who co-founded the installation and who puts up the display annually – with the help of volunteers – had testified that the total cost of the damaged items when he bought them in 2023 was $3,845, including $1,941 for damaged sail cloth on the borders, $985 for 26 damaged tarps, and $917 for the damaged grommet installations. However, the materials were bought from the United Kingdom and China before President Donald Trump slapped tariffs on the countries, meaning Carney estimates replacements will cost more now. Carney, who is a city arts commissioner, said he will fundraise to replace the items, which he initially bought on his credit card, but has not started yet.
“Mr. Bamacajeronimo, and without anyone encouraging him or helping him, decided to vandalize someone else’s property,” Castellanos said. “It doesn’t matter what it was.”
Bamacajeronimo will appear in court again for another arraignment October 14 at 9 a.m. in Department 22.
In addition to Carney, San Francisco Police Officer Willion Wong testified that while responding to a call for service on June 17, he caught Bamacajeronimo with two black spray paint cans spraying the pink triangle installation and chased him 50 yards downhill, where he was detained. Wong said further that he explained the significance of the pink triangle to Bamacajeronimo.
“The pink triangle is a symbol they were forced to wear by the Germans in concentration camps during World War II, and they took that and made it their own symbol of resilience … and put that on Twin Peaks,” Wong explained.
After the vandalism, Carney left the damaged tarps up until the pink triangle was taken down June 29 following the San Francisco Pride parade.
