Noting that Jerich seemed to have little understanding of the meaning of the rainbow-colored gay pride mural he defaced or the struggles of the LGBTQ community, he ordered him to write a 25-page essay on the 2016 massacre at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando. But in the meantime, he gave Jerich a homework assignment. He ordered Jerich to return to court on June 8 to learn his fate. With the founder and president of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council pushing for a year-long sentence, Suskauer said he needed more time to decide an appropriate punishment. Homework for the defendant, and hints of a sentence “This is not the person I was expecting,” Suskauer said. “I was just trying to fit in and be accepted.”įaced with a young man his attorney compared with Lennie, the mentally disabled man-child in the novel “Of Mice and Men,” Suskauer said he had to reconsider his assumptions about Jerich, who in March pleaded guilty to criminal mischief and reckless driving in connection with the June incident. “I’ve had problems in the past with fitting in,” Jerich said haltingly. When the tall, husky young man finally composed himself, he apologized for his actions but offered no real explanation for them. Safeguards in place: Boynton Beach moves to protect its Pride intersection from vandals
