Man Confesses To Toppling Jewish Gravestones: Police

UNIVERSITY CITY, MO — Police in University City say 34-year-old Alzado Harris has confessed to vandalism related to the toppling of more than a hundred Jewish gravestones in the Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery in February 2017. Prosecutors say Harris, who lives in Florissant, Missouri, admitted to the crime earlier this year, telling police he was mad and drunk after a friend dropped him off nearby the cemetery.

Prosecutors said Harris' DNA and clothing were found at the scene, tying him to the crime. He has been charged with one count of vandalism.

The vandalism gained national attention after police last year said they were investigating it as a hate crime. Around the same time as the vandalism at the cemetery, Jewish Community Centers across the country were hit with a wave of bomb threats.

Vice President Mike Pence and Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens both came to University City to condemn the act and help in the cleanup.

“There is no place in America for hatred or acts of prejudice or violence or anti-Semitism,” Pence said at the time.

But prosecutors don't think there was an anti-Semitic motive behind Harris' actions and it looks unlikely that he will be charged with a hate crime.

Harris has a criminal history, including burglary and motor vehicle theft, as well as assault and drug possession, the Post-Dispatch reports. He is held on $20,000 bond.

The Anti-Defamation League thanked the University City Police Department in a statement released Thursday for their work in investigating the vandalism.

“ADL was waiting to learn whether or not the case would be prosecuted as a hate crime, which requires evidence of motivation that Harris chose the cemetery intentionally because it was a Jewish one and he wanted to target Jews," said the group's regional director, Karen Aroesty. "It appears that such motivation is not present. Harris was apparently angry at a friend and alcohol and drug use fueled his remarkable rampage at the cemetery the night in question. While it won’t be prosecuted as a hate crime, there is no question that at the time it certainly felt hateful to the Jewish community, both in St. Louis and far beyond. While we waited on the investigation, some seriously impressive community building and interfaith expressions of support came from all over the world, including crowdfunding by the Muslim community and engagement with interfaith friends in St. Louis and globally; they understood the emotional impact, especially for the families who experienced damage to the headstones of their loved ones."

Feroze Dhanoa contributed to this reporting.

Photo: Signs are shown on display outside the Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery on February 22, 2017 in University City. Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence were on hand to speak to more than 300 volunteers cleaning up after recent vandalism at the cemetery. (Photo Michael Thomas/News/Getty Images)