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An arrest has been made in a Jewish cemetery vandalism case that occurred on February 22, 2017.
The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office charged 34-year-old Alzado Harris with felony institutional vandalism on Wednesday. His bail was set at $20,000.
Police said Harris confessed in a recorded interview that he knocked over around 130 gravestones at Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery. The estimated damage was over $30,000. The incident came at a time when bomb threats were being phoned into Jewish community centers across the country.
According to our news partners at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, a friend dropped Harris off near the cemetery after an argument that evening. He told authorities that he took his anger out on the monuments at Chesed Shel Emeth and was under the influence of drugs.
No arrests were made for the incident at Chesed Shel Emeth for over a year. Police said, at the time, that there was not enough evidence to determine a hate crime had been committed. Harris does have a criminal record.
Investigators said DNA evidence collected at the scene ultimately led them to arrest Harris.