The serial vandal who was granted supervised release last year despite being accused of a laundry list of crimes – including one targeting St. Patrick’s Cathedral – was finally held on bail after allegedly chucking a rock at a Lutheran church in Queens.
Juan Velez, 29, was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court Monday on two counts of criminal mischief in the fourth degree – one as a hate crime – as well as one count of first-degree aggravated harassment over the Jan. 29 incident at Grace Lutheran Church.
Judge Marty Lentz ordered Velez held on $50,000 cash bail or $150,000 bond, according to the District Attorney’s Office and online records.
He will also required to undergo a psychiatric exam, according to the records.
Video allegedly showed Velez smiling at a surveillance camera as he launched the rock at the Forest Hills church in broad daylight – two times because his first attempt didn’t shatter the glass.
He was arrested a week later, on Sunday afternoon, cops said.
It came more than two months after Velez was released in November 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.
He was accused of hurling a wrench through the glass door of Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s residence at St. Patrick’s on Oct. 28.
His previous cases included one troubling incident where he dropped a glass bottle over a second-story railing at the Shops at Columbus Circle as people walked below, officials said.
In a March 16 spree, Velez was allegedly caught on surveillance footage kicking in a glass door on Central Park South, authorities said.
He was also 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.
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 District Attorney 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.
Critics slammed the decision to release Velez – including one law-enforcement source who argued that “If you can do this to the cardinal’s house, I guess nothing’s off limits.”
