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Lorenzo Cavallo, age 20, of Plainville, and Gina Lombardi, age 21, of Bristol, turned themselves into Southington Police on Tuesday, Jan. 19, for the incident which took place on Sunday, Nov. 29, in Southington.
According to police, officers investigated a report of vandalism done to the detached garages on the property of 245 Summer St., in Southington. The property owner donated the back of one structure for a mural painted in remembrance of the 26 victims in the Newtown School shooting.
Although there have been incidents in the past, vandals in this incident were the first to deface the actual memorial mural. Vandals in this incident used spray paint, covering the mural and butterflies that represented the victims, police said.
Officers, with the assistance of Plainville Police, were able to identify Cavallo and Lombardi.
During a police interview, Lombardi was apologetic, stating she did not know the significance of the mural and was not intentionally defacing the memorial.
Lombardi stated that she was frustrated with law enforcement over an incident in Plainville, felt helpless, and had a "bad knee jerk reaction," police said.
Lombardi confessed to partially vandalizing the memorial, confirming the Lorenzo was also responsible for adding additional graffiti. Several attempts to contact Lorenzo Cavallo went unanswered.
According to the property owner, the cost to repair the mural was estimated to be approximately $2,500 not including additional graffiti on the side of the building, estimated to be another couple hundred dollars, police said.
The investigation resulted in arrest warrants being issued for both Lombardi and Cavallo.
Both were charged with criminal mischief and conspiracy to commit criminal mischief.
Cavallo was held on a $150,000 bond. Lombardi was held on a $10,000 bond.
Cavallo and Lombardi were both later released on promises to appear in court.
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