Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George told Seven Days via email Friday that Maier’s case was referred to the Burlington Community Justice Center.
“CJC referrals are pre-charge, so he’s not officially ‘charged,'” George wrote, “but we didn’t decline to prosecute it either. If [Maier] completes CJC then he won’t have to appear in court. If he does not, he will be officially ‘charged’ and have to appear in court.”
Maier, who performed with the recently disbanded psych-pop quintet Madaila, was arrested December 5, more than a month after he allegedly used a chemical solution to destroy parts of the mural depicting Caucasian people’s faces. Margaux Higgins of Burlington was arrested November 7 on suspicion of being an accessory to the crime.
In announcing the arrests last week, police said the damage to the mural, which adorns a wall along Leahy Way off the Church Street Marketplace, “is estimated at $5,000 to $10,000 and may not be repairable.”
In response to critics, the Burlington City Council voted in October to move the mural by 2022. But that decision did not appease some, including local activist Albert Petrarca, who wanted it removed immediately.
One of those who said he respected the council’s decision was Vermont Abenaki Chief Don Stevens. In response to claims that the mural’s defenders are “racist,” Stevens wrote in an October 18 email that the rhetoric from activists had gone too far.
A couple of weeks later, passersby noticed that part of the 124-foot-long mural was covered with tarp where officials had blocked view of the vandalism. The tarp has been there since.
Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo was not immediately available for an interview Friday morning.
The Burlington Community Justice Center runs a Rapid Intervention Community Court, which sends suspects through a “restorative panel process” after a referral from prosecutors, according to the center’s website.
In an email, George said restorative justice is an ideal fit for Maier’s case.
“We referred the case to CJC because, if Mr. Maier acknowledges and accepts responsibility for the role he is alleged to have played in defacing the mural, the steps he would have to take through the restorative justice process could have a meaningful and lasting impact,” George wrote.
She added that the out-of-court process also “proactively seeks to strengthen the entire community.”
“We believe this outcome is especially appropriate in this case, as we consider the destruction of public artwork to be a serious offense against our community,” George wrote.
So far, Maier’s permanent record is clean. As of Thursday afternoon, there were no records related to Maier — for the mural or anything else — filed with Chittenden County Superior Court. Court staff confirmed they’d received no paperwork in connection with Maier’s arrest.
Maier isn’t completely off the hook; those who fail to complete the community court program can still be charged with a crime.
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Well that should throw an error in his code. He’s a white guy who believes and rants that racial injustice is everywhere, who got a kid gloves, once-in-a-life-time deal and gets to walk from a felony instead of facing actual punishment. Is he going to protest his own sentence? Or forgo his alleged principles and keep quiet in order to reap the benefit of his own “white privilege”? C’mon Eric, let’s see some solidarity, demand an actual punishment.
Well that should throw an error in his code. Hes a white guy who believes and rants that racial injustice is everywhere, who got a kid gloves, once-in-a-life-time deal and gets to walk from a felony instead of facing actual punishment. Is he going to protest his own sentence? Or forgo his alleged principles and keep quiet in order to reap the benefit of his own white privilege? C’mon Eric, let’s see some solidarity, demand a real punishment.
I’m with Patrick Cashman. C’mon Maier, pony up, or will you go for your “white privilege”?
No one is surprised that liberals allow liberals to walk free, when they should be facing the consequences of their actions. We can expect more of the same when self-entitled liberal prosecutors continue to slap these liberal miscreants on the wrist, and in doing so, only enable more of their deplorable behavior.
“No one is surprised that liberals allow liberals to walk free, when they should be facing the consequences of their actions. We can expect more of the same when self-entitled liberal prosecutors continue to slap these liberal miscreants on the wrist, and in doing so, only enable more of their deplorable behavior.”
I agree with you that this self-entitled LEFT wing “activist” should receive more than a slap on the wrist. Do you likewise agree that RIGHT wing criminals should also “face the consequences of their actions”? Like, oh, say, rich guys who pay off women to keep silent about extramarital affairs just before an election?
Why would anyone be surprised as this non-punishment comes from the very same Ms. George who thinks coddling drug addicts by providing them with safe injection sites is a way to combat the opoid epidemic? In the case of Maier, she is simply rewarding criminal behavior under the guise of bringing the community together and all that warm and fuzzy liberal rhetoric. Yet another glaring example of why I am leaving this (dare I say it here!) GOD forsaken state called Vermont. And I could care less if Trump’s whining lawyer who doesn’t have a set and now cries “Foul!” paid off Trump’s sex partners. I thank GOD every day that Trump’s president and not Clinton.
Did Maier agree to this? For the record, many people consider the racist mural to be a serious offense against our community.
Define “many” Lea
Burlington wimps out on justice should be the headline.
Even considering the Abeneki agrees the vandal went over board.
Thus also showed contempt of court when the vandal (and he admits to it so he is a vandal), when he blew off the court date.
For the record, many people consider the never-ending we-know-better-than-the-rest-of-you acts of self righteousness by a handful of sad old white hippies in Burlington to be a serious offense against our community.
If anyone is curious, Samuel de Champlain was actually French (born in France, not Vermont).
What if the mural was actually a veiled criticism of our lack of diversity and we just didn’t get it? Nah…
And I thought court diversion was ONLY for people under the age of 18
This adult son of a wealthy liberal college professor from VERY snooty liberal Vermont college gets to walk without a misdemanor on his record. As the great black comedian Richard Pryor once observed: I was hauled into court looking for a little justice. And thats what I found: just us.
Restorative Justice…..Hahahaha……you guys in the Socialist Republic of Burlington kill me!
How does destruction of property over 10k not get a person jail? This isn’t a bit of graffiti or your regular teenage vandalism.
He’s getting a Hillary-Pass for all the obvious reasons just like Mullah Petrarca of the American Taliban received
Is this state attorney, Ms. George, the original “you can’t skull on my water ski territory”, also known as the” lady of the lake” in Craftsbury?
Seems that Eric is going to revel in his white privilege. Enjoy that kids’ table punishment for your felony. No solidarity or allyship from this guy. “Black lives matter, unless it would inconvenience me”.