Eleven arrested, charged for downtown vandalism

Police have arrested 11 people — including two Asheville residents — for vandalism to several businesses and cars last night. Two of the alleged vandals have connections with anarchist groups, but at this time, it’s not clear what the message or protest was behind their actions.

Last night around 10:45 p.m., vandals shattered glass at several businesses around the Battery Park Avenue area, including the Eye Center, Bella’s, the Asheville Citizen-Times, the entrance to the Grove Arcade, Cucina 24, an RBC Centura ATM and the glass etching landmark across the street from the Arcade. Several cars in the area were also damaged. Reports at the time described around 20 people wearing dark clothing, breaking windows.

“The subjects were wearing masks and face coverings and are estimated to have damaged at least eight vehicles and five businesses,” an announcement from the Asheville Police Department reads. “Officers from all districts responded, as well as a K-9 unit and Forensics staff.”

So far, 11 people have been arrested by the APD. Most are from outside the Asheville area. They are:

Jordan M. Ferrand-Sapsis, 24, of Oklahoma City, Okla.; Naomi Rachel Ullian, 26, of West Chestnut St. Asheville;
 Marshall Rogers Tingler, 24, of Oklahoma City
; Daniel Heinz Regenfcheit, 26, of Carrboro; Karen Leigh Alderser, 19, of Carrboro.; Alissa Marie Batzold, 18, of Carrboro; Havely Carolyn Carsky, 23, of Meadow Lake Road, Asheville; Randall Duncan Stezer, 17, of Graham; Wyatt Sherman Allgeier, 19, of Mount Pleasant; Cailin Elizabeth Major, 25, of Milwaukee, Wis.
; and Nicholas Ryan Entwistle, 19, of Kansas City, Mo.

All face seven counts of injury to personal property and three counts of personal injury to real property. Tingler faces an additional count of injury to personal property. The APD announcement indicates that more charges are pending.

So far, none of those accused have been released from the Buncombe County Detention Facility, where they are being held under a $10,000 bond (except for Tingler, whose bond is $11,000). Barring their release, their first court appearance is tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. Currently, their court date is set for June 8.

May 1 is commonly a day for political protest, but it’s not immediately clear what — if any — was the specific message behind the damage. Two of those charged, Major and Ferrand-Sapsis, have connections with anarchist groups. In 2008, Major was involved in a Michigan court case as a part of a 2008 protest by Bash Back!. Ferrand-Sapsis has been involved in activities with Kansas Mutual Aid.

If the vandalism is tied to anarchist groups, it might not be the first time. Last year, after May Day, an announcement on the Anarchist News website claimed that a downtown building was “occupied” by 150-200 people and, when that was dispersed “the rowdy party snaked through the city draging [sic] things into the street and throwing shit at stuff we hate (banks, development firms and yes, even those fucking bourgeois-ass “local businesses”). Cry about it liberal.”

Many of the arrested were college students. Stezer attends Alamance Community College, Allgeier and Alderser go to UNC Chapel Hill, Ullian go to Goddard College in Plainfield, Vt., and Carsky is a senior biology major at UNCA.

As of this morning, most of the broken windows have been boarded up and the shattered glass removed. The Grove Arcade was open, though the ATM remains out of order.

Below is a video of last night’s damage, from Asheville Video.

— David Forbes, senior reporter

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20 thoughts on “Eleven arrested, charged for downtown vandalism

  1. Jonathan Wilson

    i don’t understand why they’d attack a local small business. and the bank wasn’t even involved in the economic crisis.

  2. Thank you Asheville Police Department for taking care of these knuckleheads.

    I certainly hope no one is crazy enough to donate any bail money.

  3. Infidel

    I’m curious, if this group were “teapartiers” would you reference them as “right wing?” I bet you would but you just can’t figure out on what side of the political spectrum (let me give you a hint, the left) these thugs are on?

  4. cwaster

    You know, I’m all for personal expression- but this was WRONG. Shame on you people! Busting windows out only hurts the businesses downtown and proves nothing except that you are idiots.

  5. Unit

    I assume these kids have parents. The value of the damage should be taken from their personal or families’ assets. Confiscated if that’s what it takes.

    These kids should spend the forseeable future on labor crews.

    Picking on local businesses, historic buildings, and public art. Way to hit the man, idiots. Too stupid for words.

  6. T100C-1970

    Sounds like some UNC students and friends on a “service learning” project.

  7. Piffy!

    [b]I’m curious, if this group were “teapartiers” would you reference them as “right wing?”[/b]

    Well, the tea party is ‘right wing’, so, yes.

    [b] I bet you would but you just can’t figure out on what side of the political spectrum (let me give you a hint, the left) these thugs are on? [/b]

    You really have no idea about the political spectrum or where these people fall, do you? Nothing they did or have said can be aligned with anything remotely ‘leftist’ except for your apparent vague notion that anything you don’t like is on the ‘left’.

    Go sit in on a political science class or crack open a book sometime.

  8. Mike C.

    It’s pretty interesting that these kids got swept up Saturday night and are being treated like they are 100% the culprits. I have yet to hear any evidence on them(Except allegations that two are supposedly anarchists which also doesn’t prove a thing). The only thing that can be proven is that these kids were downtown wearing dark clothes on the wrong night. It actually looks like the case isn’t too strong, if you read the many articles that’s pretty obvious. The group was all wearing masks.

    Give these kids a fair trail. Every one deserves one. And shame on all of you who are jumping to conclusions before these kids even have a chance to go before the judge. It’s really pretty sad.

  9. elaneon

    Spare us from over-privileged youth. Were I their judge they would be removing litter from the streets until they go gray. Their parents would pay for the police hours, court costs, and all repairs for the crime of inflicting their kids on society with stunted concepts of personal responsibility.

    By the way, these people are precisely why anarchy is a stupid concept. If all of us were hard-working, conscientious of our own actions, respectful toward our neighbors, and clever enough to solve personal frustrations creatively instead of destructively- then as adults we could let Mumsy and Daddums retire from spooning in our pablum and wiping our bottoms for us. We also could retire their governmental equivalents.

  10. Melissa

    Your letting your personal judgments effect your thinking and it’s very transparent. The only thing I got out of your ramblings is that you are over opinionated and don’t understand the legal system works. These people were picked up downtown on suspicion. As mentioned before these kids have not been proven guilty. And nothing has surfaced suggesting there guilt. You are misinformed. Next time do a little more research.

    You would never become a Judge because you lack the understand of the very basic concepts of critical thinking.

  11. wvreddd

    I am sad to think that if these kids are guilty that they chose Asheville for their demonstration. As members of Bash Back they should really consider that our community has a very healthy and strong gay/lesbian community. It is confusing and just very pitiful.

  12. Piffy!

    Melissa you speak of critical thinking but seem quite incapable of it yourself. This is a forum, not a court of law. And your own assumptions are quite obvious as well. Manyigle all my assumptions about the level of privilege continue to prove true. I suggest you never come back to wnc. The real anarchist community -the ones who build things- have no use for your misplaced emotional issues you try and dress up as political ideology.

  13. Rachel

    This is no way to fight the inherent injustices of the state. Do you really think that cracking a couple of windows is going to harm capitalism, the system which has succeeded in developing history’s largest, most powerful global empire? While you sit in jail, try to rid yourself of your petite bourgeois tendencies and make a commitment to organize. There are people in this world who actually want to change this system.

  14. elaneon

    Melissa,

    The word ‘judge’ still implies a trial in this country. I certainly don’t remember suggesting a military tribunal. Personally I don’t believe anybody gets a fair trial, but it is good to strive toward that ideal.

    As for laws, I understand them well enough never to have broken any by accident. As civil disobedience goes, I would have been impressed had they broken the BB@T money machine then sat on the sidewalk and waited to get arrested for it. They could confess, take full responsibility, and make public statements galore about anarchy, the excesses of capitalism, anti-privatization or whatever their agenda was and serve out their sentence as a commitment to their cause and beliefs. Those are the sorts of people who eventually change the world, not these young hoodlums.

    I know that parents aren’t held responsible for the actions of their adult childen. I think in some cases that is a shame and a failing of our legal system though(one of many.) If parents treat their adult kids like minors with financial support and lawyer them up instead of leaving them to the the public defender like poor kids get when they have to go to court, then those parents should foot the financial responsibilities if their adult kids are found guilty. That would make trials in this country more fair, not less so.

    I understand that whoever police rounded up are presumed innocent. However somebody committed those crimes. They were young, well-dressed, white people according to the video I watched. This was the source of my over-privileged youth remark, not the belief that anyone arrested is automatically guilty.

    If you don’t think young, white, well-dressed people living in America in 2010 are over-privileged, or if you don’t think they have the least reason of anyone imaginable to deface public art and small businesses then I expect that you and I are never going to find any common ground at all.

    BTW I’m not sure how expressing my honest opinions on a Mountain Xpress forum makes me over-opinionated in your eyes. Just write me off as another uppity person who never learned my proper place.

  15. Sean

    Please take this down, it is affecting their ability to get jobs now. The charges were dropped.

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