MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – A man has been charged with criminal mischief after he allegedly vandalized a monument along Ocean Drive in Miami Beach.
According to police, a man was arrested on Monday and charged for applying a blow torch to a Miami Beach monument located at 1052 Ocean Drive.
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Police say the man, 45-year-old Ryan Edward Trentler, was caught vandalizing the monument located in front of the Palace Bar & Restaurant in Miami Beach. When police arrived to the scene, a witness who works at the Palace told police he had recorded the entire incident on his cell phone.
Police say the video shows Trentler actively pressing the small blow torch against the monument creating marks along its exterior.
However, Trentler says he was making chalk from the cork of a wine bottle and using the chalk to paint ashes on the statue. He says he didn’t apply fire to anything, and says he would like a grand jury hearing.
He has since been ordered to stay away from the monument.
A judge set his bond at $5,000.