Gainesville graffiti defendant undergoing competency evaluation
By Dan Roem
The Prince William County community services board is conducting a court-ordered competency evaluation for the man accused of spray-painting 23 structures during the run-up to the presidential election.Daniel Marion Jackson, 23, of Bigleaf Maple Court in Gainesville, has not formally plead to any of the charges.
According to his attorney Rod Mergler, who runs his own Manassas-based law firm, Jackson does not deny being involved with the graffiti incidents but “he does not remember most of the events from that evening.”
The evaluation is due before Jackson’s Jan. 20 court date. One of the issues at hand is Jackson’s history of mental health.
Regardless of what the board finds, Mergler said his client will be helping with restitutions.
“His goal is to make the victims whole in any way he can,” said Mergler of Jackson. “
Mergler later added, “In other words, we’re not dealing with a miscreant.”
The Oct. 25 vandalisms left a number of houses, businesses, a church and a homeowners association sign covered in spray paint. The messages included a pentagram, the number 666, obscenities and negative comments about Republican presidential candidate John McCain.
The vandalisms were first reported as political attacks because of the references to McCain and the fact that the crimes were committed days before the presidential election.
However, after Jackson was arrested and interviewed, police concluded that the incidents "had nothing to do with a political motivation."
Officer Erika Hernandez, a spokesperson for the Prince William Police, said after his arrest that some of the homes and garage doors that Jackson allegedly painted had McCain signs out front, while others did not. The victims were seemingly chosen at random, she added.
The businesses that were vandalized include the Gainesville Giant, Burger King, Target, DSW Shoes, Best Buy, Shopper's Food Warehouse and Mimi's Cafe, which was under construction in the Gateway Commons.
The United Pentecostal Church on Glenkirk Road was also targeted, as was the Virginia Oaks Housing Association sign and 12 homes in and around the Virginia Oaks subdivision.
Jackson turned himself in to police on Nov. 6.
The official tally of the number of charges is actually higher than what was first reported Nov. 5 when police obtained warrants for Jackson's arrest.
At the time, he was charged with 21 counts of misdemeanor destruction of property. But according to the general district court files, there are actually 23 charges.
All the charges are filed for intentional destruction of property with damages totaling less than $1,000 per case.
Each Class 1 misdemeanor charge in Virginia carries with it an up-to 12-month jail sentence and a $2,500 fine.