2 charged in Greenport church vandalism to perform community service

<p>Two men who were charged with vandalizing a church in Greenport reached a deal Friday that should keep them out of jail.</p>

News 12 Staff

Sep 21, 2018, 3:54 PM

Updated 2,037 days ago

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Two men who were charged with vandalizing a church in Greenport reached a deal Friday that should keep them out of jail.
Mitchell Mayer and Wesley Brown were at the Southold Town Courthouse where they agreed to perform 35 hours of community service at the church. They also agreed to pay full restitution for the damage they caused, which has been estimated at $3,500.
If completed by their next court date on Nov. 16, all charges against them will be dropped.
Last month, Southold police released surveillance video that showed the two suspects carrying out the vandalism at St. Anargyroi Greek Orthodox Church. Police say Mayer and Brown were identified after the footage was released, and the men turned themselves in.
They are not from Long Island, and were in town working at a festival.
“They really feel bad for what they did. They really repented and I'm sure they wish they never did it,” says Father Jerry Ballas.
Ballas told News 12 that the two called him after the incident to tell him that they were drunk and don’t remember vandalizing the church.
Defense attorney Daniel Rodgers says Mayer and Brown used “poor judgment.”
“At the end of the day, this was not a hate crime. This was two young men who used poor judgment, combined with alcohol and you see the result,” says Rodgers.


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