Police confirm names of students charged in vandalism case

The University of Richmond Police Department has confirmed the names of two students arrested on Thursday night in connection with the spray-painting of 17 cars in a University Forest Apartments parking lot.

Senior Marc S. Dougherty, a resident of apartment 105 and a Hightstown, N.J., native, and senior Vincent E. Mitry-Galicia, a resident of Keller Hall, were each charged with six counts of intentional destruction of property in which damages were less than $1,000. University Police Capt. Beth Simonds confirmed the names of the arrestees.

Both were booked Thursday night at the Henrico County Sheriff's Office and released Friday on bond, said Deputy Damien Powell, a spokesman for the sheriff's office. Powell said he did not know the bond amount.

Dougherty and Mitry-Galicia were arraigned Friday morning in Henrico County General District Court, and both cases are pending an adjudicatory hearing set for 1:30 p.m. on March 19.

In an e-mail message, Dougherty declined to comment on the case, and e-mail messages left for Mitry-Galicia were not returned. The connection between Mitry-Galicia and Dougherty was not immediately clear.

Both have been granted court-appointed defense attorneys. Dougherty's attorney, Devika Davis, declined to comment on her client's charges, saying she had not fully reviewed the case file. A message left on Tuesday for Mitry-Galicia's attorney, Sara Davis Harman, was not immediately returned.

Both have been charged with misdemeanors that each carry a maximum penalty in Virginia of 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine. If convicted, a court could require them to pay for the damages. Had the destruction totaled more than $1,000, each would have been brought up on felony charges.

Richmond College Dean Joe Boehman also declined to comment on the specifics of the case. Students charged with crimes such as vandalism face disciplinary action, and if found in violation of the university's conduct standards, are faced with three options: accepting sanctions from the dean of Richmond or Westhampton College, which waves students' rights to a hearing; going through a hearing from the Judicial Council or University Hearing Board; or resigning from the university.

The vandalism spate occurred sometime between 1:30 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. on Feb. 14 and involved cars parked between the 100 and 800 blocks of the apartments, police said. Purple or black spray paint was left on vehicle windows, license plates and the body paint, and in several instances included images of phalluses.

Police found spray-paint cans scattered throughout the area around the apartments. A stairway and rear patio in the 100 block, a screen window in the 1200 block and a patio light in the 800 block were also spray-painted.

Multiple witnesses to the vandalism reported the incident to university police, who investigated and found enough evidence to arrest the two students, Simonds said. Police said they believed the damage to all 17 cars was related, but some of the owners declined to press charges.

Contact staff writer Dan Petty at dan.petty@richmond.edu