Juan Velez just got busted for another alleged act of vandalism: Brutally hurling a rock against a Lutheran church in Queens.
That’s after he was let off on supervised release in November for a six-month vandalism spree that culminated with him tossing a wrench through a window of the cardinal’s residence at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and also saw him dropping a glass bottle over a second-story railing at the Shops at Columbus Circle while innocents walked below.
In all, he faced charges in 15 separate incidents, each defined by a callous indifference to private property (and any human collateral damage). But thanks to Manhattan DA Alvin “Let ‘Em Loose” Bragg and our state’s insane no-bail laws, Velez walked — only to do it again.
And the 2022 spree wasn’t his first brush with the law over his love of destruction. But Velez’s previous alleged crimes were dismissed in mental-health court, and he got off scot free (except a few counseling sessions) for them as well.
It’s more than clear that he’ll keep on doing this unless he’s jailed or hospitalized for serious mental-health treatment — yet he may end up, quite literally, having to injure or kill someone before he actually faces any real consequences.
The latest incident is being investigated as a hate crime. Good: Maybe that will compel the DA’s office to take it seriously. But why didn’t that play into prosecution for his attack on St. Pat’s? And why ignore the clear fact that Velez is a hardcore recidivist with zero compunctions about the harm he does (15 attacks in six months)?
Random violent vandalism — including against churches, which serve as community anchors — shatters the public trust like little else.
Velez is no victim of systemic forces; his ugly acts are not crimes of poverty. He’s a menace, pure and simple. And the winking at his crimes by our public servants reveals just how little they care about keeping citizens safe.
