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Smiling serial vandal who targeted St. Pat’s busted in another church crime: NYPD
Juan Velez, 29 — who was previously freed on supervised release for 15 separate vandalism acts, including the Oct. 28 incident targeting St. Patrick’s – was arrested again Sunday, this time f…
nypost.com
Smiling serial vandal who targeted St. Pat’s busted in another church crime: NYPD
By
Amanda Woods
February 6, 2023 7:23pm
Updated
The serial vandal accused of flinging a wrench through Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s residence at St. Patrick’s Cathedral was busted again this week for allegedly chucking a rock at a Lutheran church in Queens — while grinning for a surveillance camera.
Juan Velez, 29 — who was previously freed on supervised release for 15 separate vandalism acts, including the Oct. 28 incident targeting St. Patrick’s – was arrested again Sunday, this time for the crime in Queens, police said.
Velez threw a rock at the glass front door of Grace Lutheran Church on Union Turnpike near 71st Road in Forest Hills just before 4 p.m. Jan. 29, cops said.
Video shows him smiling at a surveillance camera as he launches the rock at the church in broad daylight.
He was arrested a week later, on Sunday afternoon, and charged with two counts of criminal mischief: one as a hate crime and the other with intent to damage property, cops said.
The incident comes more than two months after Velez was released over the St. Patrick’s incident and 14 other alleged crimes dating back to March – all thanks to the state’s much-criticized cashless bail laws.
Velez hurled a rock at the glass front door of Grace Lutheran Church on Union Turnpike near 71st Road in Forest Hills in broad daylight Jan. 29, cops said. 
Velez had just been let go on supervised release during his November arraignment in connection to 15 criminal mischief incidents.Curtis Means for DailyMail.ComThe St. Patrick’s vandalism – which also occurred in broad daylight – was captured on surveillance footage as well.
The wrench broke the glass door and landed in a vestibule, authorities said.
The other alleged crimes – which also ultimately did not keep Velez behind bars – included one troubling incident where he dropped a glass bottle over a second-story railing at the Shops at Columbus Circle as shoppers walked below, officials said.
In a March 16 spree, Velez was caught on surveillance footage kicking in a glass door on Central Park South, authorities said.
He’s accused of kicking in other glass doors and windows, smashing a parked car mirror with a skateboard and throwing objects through doors and windows, according to the complaint against him.
The NYPD released a mugshot of Juan Velez, 29.Velez faced 14 counts of criminal mischief and one count of reckless endangerment, but the misdemeanor charges weren’t bail eligible, a rep for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg told The Post at the time.
“We are also continuing to investigate this case to see whether any of the incidents were motivated by bias,” assistant DA Emilio Hernandez said at the arraignment, according to prepared remarks.
Velez had previously been accused of similar behavior several times, but those cases were dismissed in misdemeanor mental health court after he completed counseling sessions, according to the DA.
“Given these circumstances, supervised release at the highest level and tier is the least restrictive means to ensure the defendant’s return to court,” Hernandez had said.
Velez allegedly broke the glass door of Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s residence with a wrench — sending the tool into a vestibule. J. Messerschmidt/NY PostAt the time, critics slammed the decision to release Velez.
“Arraigned on 15 different incidents of vandalism today, and now he’s walking the streets to do it again under [Gov.] Kathy Hochul’s bail laws,” a law-enforcement source fumed. “If you can do this to the cardinal’s house, I guess nothing’s off limits. That is unreal. What are his consequences? But this is what New Yorkers wanted. They voted her back in.”