Rand Hoch, a lawyer and mediator, founded the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council (PBCHRC). In 2021, the council’s charitable foundation and the AIDS Foundation paid $16,000 to create Delray Beach’s LGBTQ Pride intersection.
Hoch strongly opposes the plea deal that the state attorney’s office offered—and 19-year-old Dylan Reese Brewer accepted—this week. In February, Brewer burned his tires three times across the intersection in Pineapple Grove. Brewer faced a felony charge of criminal mischief over $1,000 and a misdemeanor charge of reckless driving.
A felony conviction could have meant jail time. Charging Brewer with a hate crime would have upgraded the third-degree felony to a second-degree offense, increasing the likelihood of Brewer doing time.
But as with the first case of someone defacing the intersection, State Attorney Dave Aronberg chose not to invoke the hate-crime statute. And the office will allow Brewer to plead guilty to two misdemeanors, meaning that he will not have a felony conviction and all the restrictions that come with it.
Instead, Brewer will be on probation for 24 months, pay $2,000 in fines and perform 150 hours of community service. He must attend anger management classes and pay restitution to the city of nearly $6,000 for repainting the intersection.
In a statement, Hoch said, “Dave Aronberg’s pattern of leniency towards people committing hate crimes is extremely disturbing.” In an interview, Hoch noted that Aronberg formed a hate crimes task force two months ago. “I can’t figure it out for the life of me. I’m totally outraged.”
Richard Clausi is chief of the state attorney’s misdemeanor division. In an email to Hoch, Clausi acknowledged his opposition but stated, “I truly believe, in light of all of the facts surrounding this particular case, that it is a fair and just resolution that ensures acceptance of responsibility by the defendant upfront and full guaranteed restitution to the city.”
Hoch raises several issues:
The first person to deface the intersection, Alexander Jerich, pleaded guilty to a felony, though he got off with a light sentence. Jerich burned his truck tires just once. Brewer did it three times and was especially reckless. According to the probable cause affidavit, “The driver of the truck disregarded the safety of others, coming very close to a man on a scooter during one of his burnouts.”
In addition, Hoch said, “Jerich’s attorney convinced [the judge] that his client was a significantly mentally challenged and impressionable young man who fell into bad company and did a bad thing. In contrast, Dylan Brewer was a college student at Lynn University, had taken steps to modify his truck for the purpose of making it easier to do ‘burnouts’ and drove through the Pride Intersection not once, not twice, but three times.”
Prosecutors said they might have trouble determining whether Brewer’s damage exceeded that felony threshold of $1,000. But the restitution is more than five times that amount.
After Jerich’s arrest, Aronberg said prosecutors in Florida can apply the hate-crime statute only when the victim is an individual. In 2019, however, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “Hate crimes are criminal acts motivated by hate and bias towards individuals or groups [italics mine] because of race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation or other personal characteristics.”
Finally, Hoch said, “Just the message it sends is terrible.” He cited two defacements this year at a similar intersection in St. Petersburg. The U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida this year noted “a disturbing spike” in hate crimes. A site that raises money for far-right causes has received almost $37,000 toward Brewer’s defense. Social media posts call him “a hero.”
In response, Aronberg said, “Rand Hoch has never been a prosecutor and continues to show his extreme ignorance of the law. Our office will keep standing strong against hate in our community and will continue to urge the legislature to give us additional tools to maximize punishment of offenders.
“Our priority is the safety of our community, rather than trying to score cheap political points and fundraise on what is a serious subject.” For the record, the PBCHRC endorsed Dan Gelber over Aronberg in the 2010 Democratic primary for attorney general.
Through a spokesman, the state attorney’s office said of the felony count, “The issue is being able to prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt.” The probable cause affidavit included statements from witnesses, two people in the truck with Brewer and multiple surveillance videos.
Regarding the comparison to the Jerich case, the office said, “The plea hearing has not yet happened.” It’s set for Jan. 8. “Your comment comes across as a biased remark from someone who has made up his mind and is not an impartial journalist.”
Who made the decision? The office called it “a team decision … after many hours of review and thoughtful consideration … Obviously, as state attorney, Mr. Aronberg has final approval of everything in the office.”
Jerich was in a birthday parade for Donald Trump. Brewer’s truck had a Trump flag. Ex-Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is Trump’s choice to be U.S. attorney general. Aronberg leaves office next month after declining to run for a fourth term. His relationship with Bondi goes back to 2010. Though a Democrat, he talked up Bondi after losing the primary. The month Bondi took office, she created a job for Aronberg concerning prescription painkiller cases. Key Republicans were among those who helped to run off the person who could have been Aronberg’s main GOP opponent when he ran for state attorney in 2012. Despite strong criticism of Bondi from many Democrats, Aronberg has praised Trump’s appointment.
I asked whether the decision on Brewer had to do with Aronberg seeking a post at the Department of Justice under Bondi. She opposed same-sex marriage in Florida, Trump has vowed to roll back LGBTQ protections.
The office said, “This is conspiracy theory nonsense. State Attorney Aronberg and the office never allow, and have never allowed, politics or political considerations to influence any prosecutions. To suggest otherwise is ridiculous.”
Padel fever strikes Boca
Apparently, Boca Raton isn’t close to meeting the demand for racket sport facilities.
During Tuesday night’s meeting, the city council approved conversion of roughly 28,000 square feet of industrial space to eight padel courts and related amenities. The facility will be near Congress Avenue and Clint Moore Road.
Padel, a combination of squash, tennis and badminton, began in Mexico and is gaining popularity here. Elsewhere, the city just approved a racket complex on the former Ocean Breeze golf course. More courts came with the donation of what is now the Boca Raton Golf & Racquet Club.
“People are excited about this,” Councilman Marc Wigder said. The vote was unanimous.
Swatting remains a big issue in Florida
I wrote recently about the latest “swatting” incident at Boca Raton High School. Someone falsely reported that “an armed person” was on campus, causing law enforcement to respond and students and faculty to shelter.
There is little agreement on how to deter such prank calls but no disagreement on the extent of the problem. TDR Technology Solutions, which sells products to prevent swatting, recently reported that there were 1,500 such false threats in Florida during the last school year.
Boca to join in lawsuit against insulin manufacturers
Also on Tuesday night, the council approved Boca Raton’s participation in litigation against insulin manufacturers.
The plaintiffs allege that the companies, along with pharmacy benefit managers, conspired to drive up the cost of insulin. Prices have risen 1,000% over the last 20 years.
According to a memo from City Attorney Josh Koehler, Boca Raton spent more than $875,000 between 2014 and 2020 on insulin for “employees and dependents” through the city’s health insurance plans. “By joining this litigation, the city could recover funds lost due to these pricing practices, in addition to estimated damages per insulin-dependent individual, potentially increased through punitive damages.”
